


Bite Down

by greensfanfiction



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M, Mystery, Romance, Small towns and magic and mysterious happenings, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-04-17 13:15:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 59,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14189736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greensfanfiction/pseuds/greensfanfiction
Summary: In a world where demons have revealed their existence to the world a small town girl with a strange ability gets sucked into the world of mystery, danger and romance when she encounters a mysterious half-demon. AU.





	1. Status Quo

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm Green and just off the bat let me say that this is the first fanfic that I've ever published and somehow I came to the conclusion that yes, Inuyasha is the subject I want to write about and none of my other interests that might gain more traction. But fuck it I'm having too much fun with this.
> 
> About the story: it's inspired by the TV show 'True Blood', especially it's premise, and I'm loosely borrowing some plot elements (especially from the first season) but if you haven't seen the show or don't like it that shouldn't be an issue. Also I promise this story has less blood and weird sex than the show has.
> 
> (The name of this story is also a reference to 'True Blood', mostly because I'm terrible at coming up with names and this was the first one that I didn't absolutely hate. Has really nothing to do with the story itself.)
> 
> Also in FF.net.
> 
>  
> 
> Warnings: this story has several scenes with sexual harassment towards the female characters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm Green and just off the bat let me say that this is the first fanfic that I've ever published and somehow I came to the conclusion that yes, Inuyasha is the subject I want to write about and none of my other interests that might gain more traction. But fuck it I'm having too much fun with this.
> 
> About the story: it's inspired by the TV show 'True Blood', especially it's premise, and I'm loosely borrowing some plot elements (especially from the first season) but if you haven't seen the show or don't like it that shouldn't be an issue. Also I promise this story has less blood and weird sex than the show has.
> 
> (The name of this story is also a reference to 'True Blood', mostly because I'm terrible at coming up with names and this was the first one that I didn't absolutely hate. Has really nothing to do with the story itself.)
> 
> Also in FF.net.
> 
> Warnings: this story has several scenes with sexual harassment towards the female characters
> 
> Edited: 29.07.18

" _She was always a pretty girl, and such a kind one too -"_ "Oh most of us old teachers have retired since you graduated! The school is now full of fresh young minds! Speaking of young minds, I'm surprised you chose to not continue your education, you were always such a hard worker -"  _"She still looks so young and innocent, those wide eyes and soft lips -"_ "Any university would have been proud to have you, with your grades and brain -"  _"Her skin looks so soft, I wish I could just touch her -"_

Kagome forced down the bile rising into her mouth and quickly bowed to hide the discomfort on her face.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Fujiwara but I have to hurry now, I'm about to be late, and I'm sure you have important things to do too."

She rigidly straightened herself and offered a last weak smile to the short graying man. Kagome could feel him staring after her through his thick round glasses as she sprinted across a short expanse of asphalt, coming to a small backdoor. While entering she thought bitterly about how good her morning had been before she had ran into her now retired high school math teacher.

She closed her eyes and breathed in through her nose. If she wanted to get through the day she had to calm down. This wasn't anything new to her, and if she'd let every creep she met get to her she'd never be able to leave her house.

Exhaling slowly and opening her eyes Kagome plastered the brightest smile she could muster onto her face before exiting the small backroom. The sun peeked through the white blinders of the library as Kagome made her way to the front desk where the old librarian Kaede was already sorting through a small pile of returned books.

Kaede had run the town library long before Kagome was born. As a child she was convinced Kaede knew everything there was to know and as an adult Kagome knew she had been right. Kaede had always liked Kagome and never treated her differently, not even when given reason to. While Kagome knew Kaede didn't believe the things the towners said about her – she probably wouldn't have hired her if she did - she was never quite sure if Kaede would believe the truth about her either. For Kaede Kagome was a kind and hard working, if sometimes a little odd young woman, and Kagome didn't want to change that mindset. For Kagome Kaede was like a wise old mentor who she could always rely on and Kagome didn't want to change that either.

"Good morning Kaede! How are you today?" Kagome greeted cheerfully, hoping her voice matched her smile. Kaede lifted her head to peer at Kagome with her one visible eye, the other one covered by an eyepatch. Kagome had never found out what had happened to her, and in all honesty she didn't care. Some things were best to leave a secret.

"I'm doing just fine, child. I hope you are doing too", Kaede replied with a small smile of her own.

"I'm just wonderful! It's such a beautiful day! If it's like this tomorrow I think I'm going to go to the forest and read for a while before work." Mr. Fujiwara was ancient history to her.

Kaede smiled fondly. "You are more reliable than the man on TV I tell you. Kagome Higurashi, excited about finally being able to go to the forest to read. That was always how I knew the summer was upon us."

"No one ever goes to there for fun so I'm the only person there. It's peaceful", she shrugged.

"You spend too much time alone. It's not healthy to avoid people like you do, especially in your age", Kaede commented, giving Kagome her most pointed look. Kagome always thought that the fact that she only had one eye made the look that much more effective.

Despite that Kagome wasn't going to humor that particular comment which she had heard several times before. She turned away from Kaede and gestured at the pile of returns she had been sorting. "Do you want me to shelve these?"

Kaede didn't look pleased with Kagome – yet again - avoiding the topic of her non-existent social life but this time she let it go without pushing it. "Yes. Also I have a few books I want you to get and mark as reserved for Mrs. Yamada. I've written them down for you."

"I'll put these away and then I'll get to that", Kagome nodded while stacking the books into her arms and all but running away from Kaede. She knew Kaede was genuinely concerned about her but nevertheless Kagome felt uncomfortable under her scrutiny.

She decided that hiding between the shelves for a while would be a good idea.

The library was usually empty at noon, with the exception of few stay-at-home mothers and elders who came to read the day's papers. It gave Kagome the breathing room she needed. She considered her job to be a blessing, and Kaede was almost a saint for giving it to her. In the library people usually didn't stare at her or talk about her when they thought she couldn't hear what they were saying. No matter how many rumours circulated around about her the people never even thought about the possibility that she might hear them even when they weren't talking.

Kagome heard people's thoughts. She had always heard them and she never wanted to. Kagome had first realized that the voices in her head were, in fact, other people when she was a little girl, and as she grew older Kagome had learned the hard way that people didn't react well to a person claiming to read minds. And even if she didn't tell people about her "sixth sense", as she called it, it still hindered her social life a fair deal. Hearing every small and big, innocent and sometimes downright disgusting thought a person might have during the day put easily a fast stop to a budding relationship.

Kagome liked people in general but knowing too much about them was always a bad thing.

...

The day went on rather peacefully for Kagome, despite what had transpired earlier in the morning. During the lunch hour only few customers came in, all ignoring her as they passed by. Kagome got to work in peace, and when the day started rolling into the afternoon she was actually in a good mood. She didn't even dread the end of the school day when students came into the library to study for whatever school assignments they had. As long as they didn't pay any special attention to her she was good and able to tune out their thoughts.

In the evening Kagome ended her shift with closing down the library and doing some final shelving and cleaning after the customers had finally left. The sun had started to set down when she locked down the building and walked to her bike. The bike was almost offensively pink and a bit too small for her, but Kagome proudly rode on it wherever she went. It kept her in shape and was far less expensive than a car was, after all.

Pushing off from the library's parking lot she started following the main road out of the town. Kagome's family lived a thirty minute bike ride away from the town center, just on the border of the huge forest that stretched to the west from the town. Kagome's grandfather claimed that the Higurashi family had lived on that very same spot for the past 500 years and that it would be bad luck for them to move away and leave their ancestors behind.

Kagome knew he really just wanted to keep her and her brother from moving away and leaving him alone.

As Kagome rolled to the gravel in front of their white two-storey house half an hour later she was greeted with a high school soccer team's worth of bikes left laying haphazardly around the lawn. Kagome sighed and left her own bike leaning neatly against the wall near the front door. Her little brother Sota and his friends were probably raiding the kitchen after their practice, as they often did.

Unlike Kagome, Sota was always surrounded by people. He was six years younger than Kagome, sporty, social and liked by almost everyone. Sometimes Kagome envied him a little but most of the time she just worried that he'd get bullied for having a notoriously weird sister. So far that hadn't happened and Kagome was grateful.

Bracing herself Kagome entered the house, hollering "I'm home!" while removing her shoes. As she had predicted, Sota popped his messy dark head from the kitchen.

"Hi sis!" He said, spewing out cookie crumbs. Kagome scrunched her nose in disgust.

"Eat with your mouth shut, please", she asked and pushed past him into the kitchen. "Hi boys!"

" _Hot." "Sexy." "Hot." "Hot." "Sexy." "Hot." "Hot." "Hot." "Sota is cuter." "Sexy." "Are there more cookies?" "Hot."_

The thoughts of twelve teenage boys filled her head and she held back a snort as they innocently greeted her in unison.

The boys all sat on whatever flat surface they could, munching on whatever sugar filled goodies they had gotten their hands on. Kagome's mom always made sure the house was full of snacks, ready for any hungry teenager who walked in through their door. The Higurashi house had very early on become the high school soccer team's designated after school hangout, and being the "hot older sister" Kagome was one of the main attractions of the house. She prayed Sota didn't know what his friends were thinking about her. Not for her own sake, but she knew Sota would lose it if he knew one of his friends had the hots for his sister.

"Mama went to the store before she left for work", Sota informed and bit into an another cookie, shamelessly chewing with his mouth open. "So we should have stuff for the rest of the week."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Okay that's good. Where's Grandpa?" Kagome asked instead of telling her brother he was disgusting as she checked the overstuffed fridge and shuffled through its contents, absentmindedly wondering what she should make for dinner.

"In the garden probably. He said young people give him a headache so he went out", Sota grinned. Kagome rolled her eyes again, agreeing wholeheartedly with her grandfather, and shut the fridge door. She made her way through the kitchen to the back door and peered through the glass into the garden.

There he was, his back stubbornly set to the house, reading the days newspaper for what probably was the fourth time. Kagome smiled, slipped on the sandals resting next to the door and stepped out. Sneaking through the impeccably maintained garden she came to stand behind her grandfather and threw her arms around his neck.

"Hello Grandpa! How are you?"

Grandpa Higurashi was a small, hunched down old man with gray hair and perpetually grim expression. He was obviously startled but recovered soon, chuckling and patting his granddaughters hand.

"I'm better now that you're home, my girl."

Kagome slid next to the old man to sit on the bench he was occupying. He turned to look at her and despite his grim look there was always a sparkle of smile in his eyes reserved for his granddaughter.

Kagome's grandfather was among the handful of people that fully and unquestionably believed in her sixth sense, and he wasn't afraid to talk about it with her. Kagome's mother and little brother seldom brought up the subject. Grandpa Higurashi also believed, with all his heart, in myths and legends and magic, so a mind reading granddaughter was very exciting to him. He was never shy about telling people about his beliefs, and people had always found him to be slightly annoying with his insistent lecturing, saying he was just a crazy old man.

In Kagome's opinion the whole town should apologize him.

Kagome scooped to pick up the newspaper from the ground where it had fell from his grandfather's stiff grip. She started folding the paper but the front page caught her attention.

"Grandpa?" She said quietly after a few moments.

"Yes, Kagome?"

"Do you think they ever regret revealing themselves?"

Her grandfather glanced the front page, and then turned his eyes away. In big black blocky letters the paper declared  **DEMON PARENTS ENRAGED BY SEPARATED CLASSROOMS**.

"I can't even entertain the idea of knowing what they are thinking", Grandpa Higurashi said absently, pulling his gray whiskers while peering into the forest with hazy eyes.

Demons existed. They had revealed themselves to the world two years ago, stating that their declining numbers and reduced living spaces forced them to either live alongside humans or perish. The creatures that had lived in nearly forgotten legends all over the world now being part of the modern times was still something most people couldn't completely comprehend, and the change hadn't gone smoothly.

The demons of Japan were, according to the government of Japan, a thriving community with a long history tied to the country's growth and a strong will to coexist with humans. The stories on news however told a different story about violence, discrimination and humiliating laws.

Kagome read through the article, her eyebrows moving closer together on every sentence she read, until she finally shut the paper with force.

"I think it's unfair how they are treated. I mean, the reason they revealed themselves was so they could continue living and they only get treated like some fairy tale monsters", Kagome huffed, wrinkling the paper in her hand. She always had a bit of a temper and people close to her knew not to upset her unless they wanted an earful.

Grandpa Higurashi continued his whisker pulling and let out a hum.

"Humans fear them. It's that simple. We fear things we can't fully understand and control."

"Humans are stupid."

Grandpa Higurashi let out an another hum and patted Kagome's hand lovingly.

"We are my girl, we sure are."

After a brief moment Kagome sighed and folded the paper. She then stood up and offered her arm to her grandfather.

"Come on Grandpa, let's go in and kick Sota and his friends out."

Grandpa Higurashi let out a wheeze that was his way of laughing and stood up. Taking up the offered arm he and Kagome started making their way back to the house.

Sota and his team were already out of the kitchen when Kagome and her grandfather stepped in. Kagome heard the sound of swords clashing and pubescent yelling coming from the TV room. Grandpa Higurashi muttered something about loud brats and their stupid games and stomped out of the room while Kagome started preparing their late dinner.

The Higurashi family always ate at odd hours and rarely together because of the work hours Kagome and her mother had. Mama Higurashi worked as a nurse in the town's health center and her hours were sometimes very unforgiving. Kagome had taken the job of cooking in the house to herself to give her mother time to relax, and she really didn't mind. Kagome had always enjoyed cooking.

After putting the rice in the cooker she walked into the TV room and informed the rowdy group of boys that it was a school night and they should probably finish the game and go home. The house was slowly emptied with a chorus of "bye's" and "see you tomorrow's". Sota took off to upstairs to change out of his school uniform and Kagome went back to the kitchen to chop vegetables.

The food was finished in no time, and after Kagome had managed to drag their grandfather from his room the Higurashi family currently present seated themselves around the table. Kagome served the food and a comfortable silence fell, everyone focusing on eating. Kagome felt the contentment radiating from Sota's thoughts and she smiled. Her brother was easy to please.

When the dinner was finished and the table cleared Sota went to his room to start his homework, their grandfather headed to sleep in his room downstairs, and Kagome stayed in the kitchen to work on the dishes. After she finished, she left a small meal under a cloth to wait for her mother to come home.

Mrs. Higurashi never complained or, in general, asked anything from her family. She was always kind and gentle, happy to give and always willing to help others, but she could never completely hide her thoughts from Kagome, who felt her exhaustion and worry over her family. Kagome made sure that whenever she was able she would look after her mother. Small acts of kindness were the easiest, since they didn't immediately set off her mother's guilt.

Finished with cleaning the rest of the kitchen Kagome wandered upstairs in search of her cat. Buyo was very fat and very lazy, and usually spend her time lounging in whatever was the warmest place of the house and not much else. The evening sun tended to warm Kagome's room, and that's where she found the cat, spread on her bed like she owned it.

She unceremoniously scooped the cat up and dropped her down outside her door.

"I need my bed and you take too much space you fatty", Kagome said and poked the kitty's nose. Buyo let out an displeased low meow when Kagome shut the door on its flat face.

Kagome walked to her window and opened it to let in some fresh air before she would start preparing herself for bed. The night had fallen and the world outside was colored blue, the treetops swaying in a gentle night breeze the only think breaking the stillness of the night. The tranquility of the scene made Kagome want to go and sit in the garden for the remaining of the night and become part of the serene picture. She leaned out from the window a bit, took in a deep breath and relaxed completely, just for a moment, letting her sixth sense relax along with her other senses. Kagome felt her grandfather dreaming downstairs, and could catch the edge of Sota's math problem filled thoughts. It was rather peaceful and homely. It wasn't perfect, but it was as close to perfect she would probably ever get to.

Kagome took it all in for a while and after taking one last breath of the fresh night air she closed the window. She wanted to catch some sleep and wake up early to enjoy her planned morning reading session in the forest.

As Kagome prepared for bed, Buyo was making her way downstairs. She was on a mission to empty her bowl Kagome had filled for her earlier and then go and pester Sota for attention.

However, as Buyo reached the kitchen she stopped as if she had walked to a wall. Her pupils went wide and she ran to the sliding glass doors that opened into the garden, nearly slammed her chubby cat face against the panel. There was something – or someone - outside.

Buyo waited patiently for a few moments. Then, like a ghost, something human shaped and silvery appeared at the tree line. Eyes, colored like molten gold, made contact with Buyo's intent green gaze.

The golden eyes blinked, once, twice. Buyo let out a happy purr.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was that! The first chapter! Not gonna lie it's nerve wrecking for me to even think about publishing things so this is a huge step for me and I hope you enjoyed it. I have the second chapter done already and I'm going to post it soon. This was more or less an introductory chapter and I am itching to get to the good stuff.
> 
> See you!
> 
> \- Green


	2. Watcher

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I'd like to start by saying that I'm genuinely surprised that people took time to read the first chapter. I was so sure I'm just here to entertain myself but apparently not. So thank you! I'll save most of my ramblings to the end of the chapter so let's go!
> 
> Warnings about this chapter: mentions of sexual assault (towards unnamed characters) with some description.
> 
> Edited 29.07.18

The forest was alive with bird song as Kagome made her way deeper into it. Light breeze ruffled the dense foliage above that blocked the early morning sunlight, casting swaying shadows on Kagome's face as she trekked cheerfully forward, armed with a book and a quilt. She was ready to have a good time.

Reading had always been important to Kagome, ever since she was a child. It was a blissfully solitary action that she could get completely absorbed in and block out everything that was going around her. Even her sixth sense took a break while she was focused enough.

Kagome stepped lightly over the thick roots of the tall trees growing close to each other. The forest was old, spanning several hundred thousand acres, and the local legend claimed it was magical. Very few people ventured there due the difficult, uneven terrain and the real danger of getting lost so it was largely untouched by humans, with one exception.

On top of a tree covered hill, a ten minute walk away from Kagome's home, stood an abandoned house. It was constructed in traditional style, with wooden walls, paper sliding doors and a roof made from clay tiles. Kagome didn't know who had build it, or when it had been built, just that no one had lived in there in years. The place had ageless dignity, like it was above such trivial things as the passage of time and left things like aging for the lesser buildings. Somebody could have abandoned it a hundred years ago, or just days before Kagome stumbled onto it as a child.

Kagome also didn't know who else knew about the place. When she had first discovered the place when she was nine years old she had never heard about anyone living in the forest. The townspeople loved their town legends and a mysterious abandoned house in the magical forest was excellent material, but when she mentioned it to her grandfather – the encyclopedia of local myths, legends and rumors - he had no idea what she was talking about. Even Kaede couldn't help her since there were no records of such a house ever being built.

Kagome knew that if people knew about the place, most of them would find it unsettling, but for her it was exciting and something straight from a storybook. She had claimed the house as hers back then but she had never actually dared to enter it. Somehow she felt it would be disrespectful.

So Kagome just stayed outside. Her favorite reading spot was under a huge tree next to the house, so tall and expansive it overshadowed every other tree surrounding it. The tree must have been centuries old to be that massive and it made Kagome feel very small and insignificant. As a child she was sure the tree was actually alive and could speak and move, like characters in her books. Little Kagome had spend hours talking to the tree and pretending that the tree replied back. She had once asked about the people who had lived in the house, but she could never really imagine what the tree would tell her, so she had left it at that.

And there Kagome was now, under the her tree, next to her house, reading her book just like she had always done. She had spread the quilt she brought with her on the ground to protect her from the dampness of the mossy ground, leaning her back against the tree with her legs bent in front of her to support her book. She had dressed warmly despite it being a warm morning, since the forest was always damp and shadowy and the sun never quite reached the ground. Kagome had to pull the sleeves of her cardigan over her fingers to stop them from getting too cold to hold her book.

Kagome was going to work later than usual due to some renovations happening at the library that forced them to open late, and she had planned her whole morning so she could enjoy every minute of her extra free time. She had woken up with with sunrise, eaten a quick breakfast and dashed out of the back door as soon as she had kissed her freshly awakened mom on the cheek. She had even set an alarm on her phone to remind her when to leave for work so she didn't have to constantly check for the time. Kagome was never anything but prepared.

After about an hour into her reading session a small puff of air interrupted Kagome, ruffling her hair, few stray strands flying over her eyes. She moved to tuck them behind her ear but stopped her hand midair. She felt a strange sensation, like someone was caressing her whole body with a feather light touch, dragging their fingers up and down in almost loving manner. Goosebumps erupted all over her skin and she instinctively knew someone was watching her.

_But I can't hear anyone,_ she thought, getting more and more nervous with each touch she felt on her skin. She hadn't heard a single thing – thought or a sound – that would suggest that she wasn't completely alone in the forest. But still, the sensation was there, insistent and distracting, telling her all too clearly she wasn't. Kagome jumped on her feet, pressing her book against her chest like it would shield her from the invisible eyes. She scanned her surroundings, frantically turning her head back and forth but saw nothing.

_It's probably a deer_ , she decided, trying to ignore the feeling and calm down her nerves.  _Just a deer._

She didn't believe that for a second.

Not wanting to stay in the forest any longer Kagome rolled up her quilt as fast as she could, quickly passed the abandoned house and started her journey home, walking as fast as she could without outright running. She nearly tripped on some roots in her haste to get out of the forest, but she refused to slow down even in the danger of falling face first to the ground. The caressing feeling of being watched never left her, whipping her into increasing her speed, and as soon as she saw the trees thinning in front of her she broke into a sprint. Dashing through the garden she slammed the backdoor open and all but threw herself in. As soon as the door closed Kagome felt safe and she let herself collapse against the kitchen cabinets, close her eyes and breathe heavily.

"Kagome? What is wrong?" Her mother's worried voice entered the kitchen. Kagome cracked her right eye open to see her hovering in the doorway.

"I think someone was following me", Kagome said, panting a bit. Her heartbeat had started to even out and she straightened herself to properly look at her mother, who was frowning at her with worried look in her kind eyes.

"Following you? Who on earth would be following you in the forest?"

Kagome shrugged. "I don't know but it felt like it."

"Did you... hear anyone?"

Kagome knew she didn't refer to her regular hearing.

"No, I didn't hear anyone. It was just a weird feeling."

"Could have been just that then, dear", Mrs. Higurashi smiled kindly, "a weird feeling, that's all!"

Kagome knew that what had happened in the forest wasn't just a weird feeling but she didn't want to upset her mother. Mrs. Higurashi was a gentle, loving and understanding woman, but Kagome knew she was afraid. Not Kagome herself, but the fact that she would never have a normal life, that she would continue avoiding other people and that she would live the rest of her life in self-imposed isolation. Kagome almost never spoke about anything related to her sixth sense with her mother, not wanting to remind her and make her worry more than she needed to.

So, instead of insisting that what she had felt was real, Kagome offered her mother a bright smile and folded the quilt she had been holding in a messy bundle against her chest.

"I think you're right Mama! I was probably just imagining things, you know how jumpy I can be! I'll take this away and then I'm off to work", she said cheerfully. Mrs. Higurashi visibly relaxed after Kagome didn't press on the subject.

" _Oh good. I don't want her to start avoiding the forest too."_

Kagome swallowed down the guilt rising in her throat and left the kitchen without looking back.

After returning the quilt and fetching her monstrosity of a bag Kagonme exited through the front door, grabbed her bike and started furiously pedaling towards the town, trying to distance herself from the forest looming behind her as fast as she could. She had felt the soft touching feeling on her instantly after stepping outside, and no matter how hard she pushed herself and her bike to go she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

All of her nervousness fell away as she started to get angry at her invisible stalker.

...

Kagome reached the library twenty minutes earlier than she had planned, speeding around the corner to the small employer parking lot without slowing down. She left her bike locked near the backdoor and started digging for her keys from her bag, eager to get in and out of sight. She was still feeling the strange caressing sensation covering her body, but at this point the feeling only annoyed her.

Whoever it was, the stalker watching her either knew about her sixth sense and was smart and deliberately stayed outside of its range, or they were just a regular idiot who was too much of a coward to come closer. No matter which one they were, they were persistent if nothing else. From the old house in the forest to her home, and the following thirty minute ride into the town Kagome had felt their presence constantly on her, but hadn't heard – with her ears or her mind - or seen anything. She would have been impressed by their stealthiness if they just had been following someone else.

_Who the hell are you and what do you want?_ She thought, grinding her teeth and groping for the keys that mockingly jingled out of her reach at the bottom of her overstuffed bag.

"Oh come on!" She groaned out loud and crouched down, proceeding then to turn her bag upside down, spreading its insides to the ground. She had a habit of never emptying her bag and everything from tampons to a small blow dryer fell out, spreading on the concrete in a colorful mass making her feel like she was being mocked.

_I hope the idiot watching is having a good time because I sure am not,_ she thought with venom. Like a re-run of yesterday the morning that had started nice was turning to worse. Kagome hoped this wasn't going to be an ongoing trend.

Something tugged the edge of Kagomes mind and she froze.

" _Oh she's alone. Good."_

Kagome wanted to scream. It was Mr. Fujiwara.

The unknown presence didn't budge.

_Isn't one creep enough for one day? s_ he thought, completely drained out already and it wasn't even noon yet.

Kagome spotted her keychain on the ground and grabbed it, then shoveling her various belongings back into her bag as fast as she could. She now heard Mr. Fujiwara's footsteps, and the soft touch that indicated the presence of her invisible stalker seemed to intensify too. Whoever was watching her was moving closer for a better view.

Kagome seriously contemplated if pretending to get a stroke would be a good idea so she could avoid what was coming next.

"Miss Higurashi! Good morning!"

"Good morning, Mr. Fujiwara", Kagome replied through gritted teeth and stood up swiftly, clutching her bag with white knuckles, holding it like a armored shield between herself and the old balding man. She knew that if she didn't get out of this situation fast she would regret everything later.

Mr. Fujiwara stopped at an arm's length from Kagome and smiled nervously.

"I'm so grateful I caught you, Miss Higurashi! After our talk yesterday I couldn't stop thinking about you and how you seem so confined by this small town of ours..."

" _...she is smarter than the others for sure, but..."_

"... and I suddenly remembered my old friend who works at The University of Tokyo and how he owes me few favors, and I was thinking that - with your permission, of course – I could put in a good word for you..."

" _...now just invite her over to hear more about it... she's probably just as desperate as the others.. "_

Flash of images rushed into Kagome's head and she gasped like she'd been physically struck by the babbling man. She took several steps back while squeezing her eyes closed. She thought she was going to throw up for sure.

Girls, too many girls, naked, trying to hide from the eyes she saw them through. Tears, shame, humiliation. Power, hunger, strength. The memories that weren't her own assaulted Kagome's brain, burning her like a red hot poker against skin. She opened her eyes to look at the man in front of her who was completely oblivious to the fact that she now knew what he had done.

This man had known her when she was fifteen. This man had been near her and hundreds of other girls. And there he stood, like an innocent old schoolteacher, planning on extracting sex from her with a promise of a possible contact at the university, thinking he could rely on every girl's desire to make something of herself to feed his own twisted power fantasy.

Kagome saw red.

"How many girls have you done this to?" She asked with shaking voice. Fujiwara blinked behind his glasses.

"Pardon me?"

"I said, how many girls have you done this to? How many girls did you actually fool into thinking you'd help them to get somewhere in life if they'd just sleep with you first?" Kagome was seconds away from bursting into angry tears but she pushed forward. That man didn't deserve her tears.

Fujiwara looked like she had slapped him. He blinked rapidly and opened his mouth, only managing to let out intangible muttering. His thoughts were filled with the pained faces of all the girls his little trick had worked on as he wondered where he had gone wrong now. Kagome recognized one, two, three of them.

Her anger was burning like a pyre inside her, providing her the strength to stand straight and speak without hesitation, even though what she really wanted to do was to throw up right there and then.

"If you ever come near me again I will tell the police. And if you ever try this again with anyone, I will know, and I will find all the girls you have done this and I will get them to talk."

Kagome managed to deliver her threat with a calm, cold voice, meaning every word she had said. Fujiwara's thoughts were bombing her brain and she let them in with dark satisfaction: his confusion, his growing suspicion and panic mixed with genuine fear were like music to her.

Fujiwara opened his mouth again and this time managed to stammer out actual words.

"How – how did you know...?"

Kagome huffed and looked straight into the eyes of the disgusting little man standing in front of her. A cold smile spread across her face.

"You figure that out."

All color drained from Fujiwara. He took a step back, then another, before turning around and hurrying away from Kagome as fast as a man of his age could. Kagome heard his thoughts gradually fading as the man disappeared from her sight. She took one long, shuddering breath and went on to unlock the back door with shaking hands, trying to keep whatever composure she had left.

The invisible watcher was still there, their attention firmly fixed on her.

Kagome turned around one last time to gaze the empty parking lot, not really expecting to see anyone. She then stepped inside, not looking behind her again and closing the door.

From across the library on a roof of a small cafe golden eyes stared at the closed door as if they could see through it to the now crying woman on the other side.

...

"Kagome, are you not feeling well?"

Kaede's kind yet firm voice pierced through to Kagome and she wiped her nose quickly on her sleeve before turning around.

Kagome had been on the verge of crying the whole day. After what happened in the morning she had been unfocused and wasn't able to block out thoughts from her brain like she normally could. As a result she was tired, irritated and ready to go home to cry her eyes out, and she hadn't even eaten her lunch yet.

"Talk to me child, so I can help you", Kaede said gently and laid her wrinkled hand on Kagome's arm, encouraging her to speak freely.

Kagome sniffed. Kaede's thoughts radiated sincere worry for her and Kagome let herself breathe. Kaede's presence was like an anchor that held her in one place and focusing on her thoughts alone Kagome was able to calm herself down, even if just for that moment.

"I'm feeling a bit nauseous, but it'll go away soon I'm sure", Kagome offered with a small voice and a pathetic smile. Kaede frowned, obviously not believing her, and knowing she was in for it Kagome tried to make her escape. Quickly grabbing the pile of books she had been shelving she tried to slip away but Kaede stopped her with just a clearing of her throat.

"Something has really upset you. Want to tell me what it was?" Kaede's voice was stern and the thinly veiled command made Kagome swallow.

"It's... Nothing. Really", she tried to offer weakly but when Kaede didn't even blink she sighed and her shoulders dropped.

"This morning, this... Man I've known for years came to me and he... And he..." Kagome breathed in deep and continued. "He promised me things if I'd have sex with him. And he revealed he's tried this before with other girls and succeeded."

That was it, in essence, although any revelations that had happened during the earlier mess weren't voluntary but Kagome kept that to herself.

Kaede's face was unreadable but her mind betrayed her. Her thoughts weren't full of pity, like Kagome had feared, nor was she angry for her, like she had assumed. What she was feeling was sympathy, clear understanding that came with experience.

Kagome found herself smiling joylessly.

Suddenly Kaede moved to take the books Kagome was holding away from her and turned partially away as if to leave, signaling that their conversation was nearing its end.

"Take rest of the day off, go home and do something nice", Kaede said with her typical stern manner and started making her way through the shelves herself.

"That is silly! It wasn't anything dangerous, just a nasty encounter!" Kagome said, suddenly filled with panic.  _I can't just leave work in the middle of the day just because of some disgusting old man!_

"Nonsense! You're visibly upset and I don't want you to exhaust yourself with fake pleasantries. Besides, the customers will sooner or later realize that you're not being sincere and I don't want to give people any reason to think poorly of you." The last comment was accompanied by a warm smile.

Kagome looked down to the ugly orthopedic sandals she wore for work and shuffled her feet a little. She really didn't want to be there today but she also didn't want to leave just like that. There was another staff member besides her working so Kaede wouldn't be left alone but it didn't sit right with Kagome to leave just because she was bit upset.

"Kagome, either you leave on your own or I will be forced to close this library and drive you home myself."

Kagome knew Kaede made no idle threats so she snapped her mouth shut, bowed and took off with a hasty "have a nice day" so the old woman wouldn't get the chance to act the threat out. She moved through the library as fast as she could without drawing attention, avoiding any possible customers that might have been loitering around, and ducked into the backroom to gather her things.

When she exited the library the already unfortunately familiar caressing feeling returned with vigor. Her invisible stalker was still there – and somehow she was sure they had never left in the first place. Anger flared in Kagome instantly. This person had witnessed one of the lousiest days she had had in a good while, had been the partial cause of it, and they were still lurking around for more. Kagome grabbed her bike, unlocked it with more force than necessary and started pedaling towards her home like a woman possessed. She felt the stalker following swiftly behind her.

Kagome set her personal record time in getting home as she made an abrupt stop on the gravel of the front yard. She didn't bother to stop as she let her bike and bag fall to the ground, made a beeline past the house and continued her mad dash straight to the forest. She was running on pure adrenaline at that point, too angry to care about how tired her legs were as she powered through the uneven ground and up to the hill to the hidden house. Kagome only stopped when she reached the old tree, leaning against it to catch her breath.

After she managed to even out her breathing and calming down her madly beating heart Kagome straightened herself. Her jaw was set and the look in her eyes could have pierced through stone. The invisible stalker was now very close, the feeling they caused on Kagome completely enveloping her, but still she had no visual on them. She took a deep breath.

"Who are you?" She yelled, piercing through the silence of the forest. A startled bird flew from its nest, but everything else around her stayed still, adding to her tension.

"Why are you following me?" Kagome continued. The silence continued, and she would have thought that she was alone if Kagome hadn't still felt the soft caress on her skin.

_At least they haven't run away._

"Coward", Kagome scoffed. "Should have known."

Something tugged the edges of Kagome's mind. A feeling...  _Anger maybe?_

A stray leaf floated past her eyes, causing her to instinctively look up.

From the midst of the thick foliage a pair of bright golden eyes stared straight back to Kagome.

The air escaped from her lungs and her heart missed a beat. The golden eyes blinked and she blinked back.

She knew she probably should have been running away as fast as she could at that point. But she didn't. She couldn't. She didn't want to.

"Come down", she said, her voice quivering only slightly. She was thankful of that.

The eyes disappeared and for a desperate second Kagome thought that their owner had finally chosen to turn around and run away. Then, with a barely audible sound, the now visible invisible stalker dropped from the tree to face Kagome.

The first thing she saw was a flash of pure, shining silver and for a moment Kagome thought there was something wrong with her eyes. But no, the man in front of her definitely had silver hair, long and silky, and from under his thick bangs peered the two bright and alert golden eyes she couldn't look away from.

_He's beautiful,_ Kagome found herself thinking while her own eyes continued their exploration on his face. He had two thick, arching eyebrows that were currently drawn together by his scowl, an enviable jawline and sun-kissed skin. He couldn't have been much older than Kagome was but at the same time there was something ageless about him, just like the house they were standing next to. His mouth was set in a tight line as he studied Kagome when a movement on top of his head drew her eyes from his face.

The woman's mouth fell open as her gaze zeroed in on the two silver dog ears poking from his thick hair. The other was flicking, listening out the sounds of the forest while the other was firmly directed on her. They looked soft and somehow natural in the scene they were currently in, like everyone who wandered in the forest should have ears like that.

Kagome's first thought was to reach out and touch those incredibly cute appendages but the sensible part of her mind caught her before she could act. Her second thought was that this man was not human and that shook some sense into her.

_He's a demon!_

"Who are you?" Kagome asked again, now with a voice that held a hint of excitement. This man was obviously a demon and Kagome had never met a demon before, and as far as she knew he was the first demon ever visiting their small town. Her anger and frustration started to make way for childlike curiosity.

The demon's frown deepened and he took a small step closer to Kagome. She didn't dare to move.

"Might ask you the same thing", he replied, both of his ears now giving her their full attention. His voice was coarse and had a somewhat animalistic quality to it. It wasn't the most pleasant of voices but Kagome deemed it suited him perfectly.

Before Kagome could reply to him he cut her off with another question.

"How did you even get here?"

Kagome blinked. "Excuse me?"

"How did you get here? No one should be able to get here."

"I've always just walked here. I live nearby", Kagome replied, now utterly confused. There was really nothing that stopped people from finding the place, except that it was located in a forest that was difficult to get through if you didn't know what you were doing.

The golden-eyed man squinted at her. "Always? You been coming here often?"

"I found this place when I was nine, I come here to read. Anyway  _who are you_?" Kagome was getting frustrated again. Their conversation was going nowhere and she had questions too. She took an unconscious step towards him.

The man crossed his arms and looked down on Kagome. He was a good foot taller than she was, had a lean yet muscular physique and rather impressive arms. She noticed that while he was dressed in a very ordinary t-shirt and jeans combo he wasn't wearing any shoes. He also seemed intent on not replying to her. Kagome's anger was coming back with a vengeance.

_Oh you owe me some answers mister!_

"Why were you following me?"

He let out a huff and turned his head to avoid looking at Kagome. Kagome wanted to stomp her foot like a child.

"Don't ignore me! You've been following me the whole day and I want to know why!" She hoped she didn't sound as whiny to him as she did to herself.

"What are you doing here?" The man asked, not even looking at her, staring at the wall of the abandoned house like it was the one he was asking the question from.

"Weren't you listening? I already told you why I come here! Now you answer me: who are you and why you were following me!" Kagome was now unashamedly yelling at the man. She wanted answers and the man was deliberately ignoring her; she felt like she had every right to raise her voice.

The man flattened his ears against his head and turned to finally face her. His golden eyes were flaming with the same frustration that was in Kagome's own brown eyes.

"That is none of your business!" He all but barked at her, taking a step forward.

And at that, Kagome lost it. She pushed herself straight into his personal space, ignoring the small jump the man made. Her hands were balled in thight fists and it took all of her remaining willpower to not start pounding his chest.

"None of my business? NONE OF MY BUSINESS?! Stranger following me from the forest to my house to my work AND back is NONE OF MY BUSINESS? Don't you think that when some weirdo stalks a woman it is her business?"

For someone so small, Kagome was extremely loud and she took full advantage of it. A flash of fear was visible in the man's eyes but he soon snapped out of it, straightening his back and looming over the young woman, obviously trying to intimidate her.

"I am not a stalker", he growled. Kagome scoffed, unimpressed, and crossed her arms, mirroring his position.

"Then act like it and don't follow me anymore!"

"Done! Wouldn't want to anyway!"

"Oh really, who was it then who followed me for several hours!"

Obviously not coming up with a good enough comeback the man resorted to purposely ignoring her again.

Kagome let out a frustrated scream, turned on her heel and stomped away from the man as loudly as she could. He let out a surprised sound at her abrupt retreat but Kagome didn't want to turn back to him again in case she would do something she'd later regret.

"Stalker!" Kagome yelled over her shoulder before breaking into a sprint, anger yet again fueling her every step. She pushed past trees and rocks as if each of them had committed a great offense against her, and not until she saw a glimpse of her house she slowed down. When she entered the garden she finally came to a full stop.

It hit her like a lightning from clear sky. She wondered how she hadn't realized sooner, but then again, she hadn't really been thinking clearly during the last few moments.

_I couldn't hear his thoughts!_

No matter how close they had stood or how heated their yelling had been, she hadn't heard a single thought coming from the golden-eyed man. She turned to stare into the forest, dumbstruck look on her face.

_I really couldn't hear him!_

Kagome had felt his presence very clearly and his emotions – anger and frustration, mostly -, and that was it. Her own anger was now completely drained from her and replaced with disbelief as she stood in her family's garden with her mouth hanging open.

_I couldn't hear him!_

Something akin to joy started bubbling in her chest. Kagome had never met a person whose thoughts she couldn't hear and now there suddenly was someone. She chose to ignore the fact that their only interactions so far had been him following her around and her yelling her lungs out at him for it.

Part of Kagome really wanted to run back to the forest to find him, but the part of her with any pride left stomped that thought to the ground.

_Besides, he probably wants nothing to do with me since I did yell at him,_ Kagome thought.

_But he did stalk me._

Huffing Kagome turned back to the house and made her way to the back door. Just before she managed to slide it open she felt him again, the caressing feeling returning to her skin. She turned to peer at the treeline. She didn't see him but she didn't really mind – she had expected that much. But Kagome knew he was there and that was what mattered.

"Stalker!" She yelled once again, smile ghosting on her lips. She then pushed the door open dramatically and made a show about stepping in and sliding the glass panel close behind her.

Just beyond the treeline the silver haired man was perching in a tree, watching with a frown as the young woman disappeared deeper into the house. He had seen the small smile on her lips and heard it in her voice and couldn't make sense of it. He leaned against the tree trunk, closed his eyes and let his frown fade away, a small smile creeping on his own lips. What the smile had really meant he didn't know, but what he did know was that it did promise interesting things to come.

...

A rustle of leaves was the only warning Kagome got before the silver haired figure dropped from the tree to face her. She had known he was there from the feeling he brought with him but she had been sure he wouldn't show his face at all after what went down the day before.

Kagome pretended that she hadn't noticed him, bringing the book closer to her face. She wouldn't speak first she wouldn't -

"What are you doing here?"

Kagome looked up from her book, genuinely surprised.

"I'm reading", she replied, blinking at him.

It was a lie. She had really just waited for him to show up and just moved her eyes over the same page over and over again, but he didn't need to know that.

Kagome was again positioned on the ground, legs stretched in front of her and book in her hands. The man was crouching on her left side, close enough that if Kagome wanted she could reach out and touch him.

She chose to keep both of her hands on her book for now.

After a few heartbeats the man let out a small 'keh' sound and plopped down to the edge of Kagome's quilt, crossing his arms and legs while staring at her with accusing eyes. Kagome started to get irritated again. What had she done to him, besides yelling at him for a good reason?

_This guy is really something!_

Kagome closed her book and locked her gaze with the man. It was a silent battle of who would speak up again, both adamant on not being the one to break the silence and lose.

Minutes ticked by and both of them started to fidget, neither enjoying their situation. Finally, they both opened their mouths.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Kagome."

They blinked in unison. Kagome looked down on her lap and bit her lip, trying to banish the smile that really wanted to twist her lips upward.

The man cleared his throat awkwardly and Kagome covered her mouth with her hand when she felt she was losing her battle.

"I guess that answered that", she said, aiming for a serious tone but failing miserably. The man didn't look at her but his twitching ears told Kagome she had all of his attention.

She really wanted to know if his ears were as soft as they looked like.

The silence stretched around them again, but this time, instead of being uncomfortable, it gave Kagome the time to properly focus on him.

It was an alien feeling to her, not hearing what the person right next to her was thinking. Even if she was able to tune out some of it she was always aware that people were thinking and feeling. It was like tuning out the music from the radio: you pay no mind to it but you notice when the music suddenly stops. Kagome imagined that for a normal person this situation would be similar if the person next to them wasn't breathing.

Not knowing what was going on inside his annoyingly handsome head was really frustrating.

"Why can't I hear you?" She whispered, nearly inaudibly.

"I didn't say anything", the man said, his loud voice like a gunshot in the quiet forest. Kagome snapped her mouth shut and felt panic creeping up on her. She was just airing out her frustration, he shouldn't have heard that!

_Guess those ears aren't just for show._

"I didn't mean it like that", Kagome replied quickly. "It's just that I..."

She stopped herself. The man was now looking at her, and his intense golden eyes seemed to drill right into her. Kagome made a split-second decision and hoped she wouldn't regret it.

"I can't hear your thoughts."

The man's ever present scowl deepened. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means I can usually hear what people are thinking but right know I have no idea what is going on in your head", Kagome said breathlessly. This was it.

"You can... hear what people think?" He said, slowly, unreadable look on his face. Kagome gave a small stiff nod.

_Now he will think I'm a freak and tells me to leave him alone and I'll never find another person who I can't hear..._

"So was that what went down with the old man the other day?"

"Huh?" Kagome let out and looked at the man dumbly. Then she realized what he had meant and gritted her teeth.

"Forgot you saw that for a moment. But yes, that was what happened," she replied curtly.

"And you can't hear my thoughts?" The man asked. Kagome nodded and was silently thankful he didn't ask more about Mr. Fujiwara. At the same time a small spark of hopefulness was lit in her chest.

_Maybe he doesn't think I'm a freak!_

"I think – I think it's because you're a demon. I have never met a human I couldn't hear and you're the first demon I've ever met", Kagome said, her voice now more confident.

The man's gaze turned from Kagome's eyes to somewhere over her right shoulder. He was scowling again, clearly displeased by something. Kagome started to worry it was something that she had said.

"So you can't really hear anything from me?" He asked, still staring into the distance.

"Well... I can't hear your thoughts but I can sense your presence. And I can kind of sense what you're feeling, but only if you're close and even then not very well", Kagome said, her excitement steadily growing. "That was how I knew you were following me."

The man's ears plastered against his head with the mention of what had happened yesterday. He obviously was remembering the way Kagome had yelled at him for it.

"Well good, I wouldn't want you to poke around in my head anyway", he said gruffly, but without any real heat behind his words.

"Most people think I'm a freak when I tell them I can hear their thoughts", Kagome said with a small, hopeful smile on her face.

"Keh. Freakier things out there than you", the man said, his lip twisting slightly upward. Kagome's smile grew and she opened her mouth to speak.

And just then Kagome's phone went off. Her face fell and she pulled out the moment ruining pink piece of machinery from the pocket of her cardigan.

She really wanted to throw it against a tree.

"Ummm... I have to go, I have to get ready for work", she said quietly, turning off the alarm as she started to get up. The man bounced up in a blink of an eye.

Kagome stood up, straightened her skirt and picked up her book. When she looked back up again a bundle of cloth was shoved under her nose. The silver haired man had gathered her quilt, folded it and was now presenting it to her like some sort of peace offering. Kagome reached to take it, giving him a coy smile and a small "thank you".

She then gasped and nearly dropped the quilt when her fingertips accidentally brushed against the back of his large hand. Kagome felt her cheeks turning red and she barely registered that each of his long fingers were tipped with extremely sharp looking claws. The man's face mirrored Kagome's in its redness and he took an abrupt step backwards.

"Well", Kagome stammered out. "Ummm... See you around!" She wanted to punch herself but instead of that started walking away from the man.

"Inuyasha."

Kagome came to a halting stop and turned to look at him.

"Excuse me?"

"Inuyasha", the man repeated, rubbing his neck while small blush dusted his cheeks. "That's my name."

Kagome felt warmth spreading inside her chest and her face split into a bright smile.

"It was nice to meet you properly Inuyasha!" She laughed, gave him a playful bow and took off with a spring on her step.

As he watched her retreating back Inuyasha continued to rub his neck with a dumbstruck look on his face and warmth in his own chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... About this chapter: it ended up being twice as long as the first chapter (the chapters are probably going to become even longer because of my lack of self restraint) and I'm not completely satisfied with it, the pacing is off and the last about 1000 words are actually the original opening of the third chapter but I want to get through the introductions, character stuff and setting the stage for the actual story to play on as fast as possible so I can get to the stuff I REALLY want to write...
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading and see you next time!
> 
> \- Green


	3. Learning curve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I have a lot to say about this chapter but I'll save it to the end. Right now I want to use this space to address directly a comment made here where a reader said that the tree featuring prominently in this story should be taller, and that particular comment started a chain reaction that ended with me reworking several plot points of this story. Bet you didn't see that coming when you made your completely accurate observation, eh?
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
> 
> Warnings: none
> 
> Edited: 09.09.2018

They had been playing this game for a few days now. After finishing her work day Kagome would arrive to the house in the forest with her book, seat herself under the large tree and pretend to read for a while. Inuyasha would, at some point, appear to sit rigidly on the edge of Kagome's quilt while avoiding eye contact with her, his ears flicking from time to time in a nervous twitch. Both of them would make several attempts at opening their mouth to speak but never gaining enough courage to form any actual words. That would continue until sunset when Kagome had to go back home. Inuyasha would then trail her back to her house and sit up in a tree, hiding in the leaves and just staring at her house for hours before returning to the forest.

The 'sitting outside her house'-part wasn't known to Kagome, though, and Inuyasha intended to keep it that way.

Both Kagome and Inuyasha were tired of the situation they had cooked up, but neither of them knew how to continue from where they were. Kagome knew nothing about Inuyasha besides his name, that he was a demon of some sort and that he was an absolutely terrible conversationalist. She had no real way of contacting him besides just hoping he would show up, so she just had to trust him to come to her and pray he wouldn't get bored with her, and it was beginning to make her desperate. She was spending hours in bed before falling asleep just thinking about things to say to him to keep him coming back, but she came up with nothing. What could she say without chasing him away? They were complete strangers who seemed to be drawn to each other for unexplained reasons.

Well, Kagome had explained her reasons to him, she just didn't know what he wanted from her.

Inuyasha watched Kagome intently while she nervously fiddled the book she had in her hands, lost in her anxious thoughts. Today he had been waiting for her to come home near her house, hiding in the foliage while fully knowing she would sense him. For some reason Inuyasha found it less awkward to just trail after her, away from her eyes, than walk beside her like he knew a normal person would.

He suspected it was just his habitual dislike of human contact.

Without really thinking what he was doing Inuyasha reached over to Kagome and yanked the book from her hands. Its presence really annoyed him for some reason. Kagome let out a surprised yelp and made an attempt to grab the book back but Inuyasha moved so that it was out of her reach. He then started leafing through the pages.

"What are you always carrying this around for?" Inuyasha asked gruffly, and when her brain caught up with the fact that he was actually talking to her and being the one initiating the conversation Kagome was flooded with joy.

The bar had been set so low and yet they had struggled to step over it.

"I just like reading. I've always had", she replied, eager to speak with him now that they had broke the strained silence.

Inuyasha huffed as a way of reply and went quiet again for a while, studying the pages with his brows drawn together in concentration.

"What is this about?" He asked, surprising Kagome again.

"You... don't know what this book is about?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha frowned at her.

"Should I?" He asked with a haughty voice. Kagome winced.

"Well, it's fairly well known but I guess if you don't read much then you probably aren't interested to know what some old book is about", Kagome blabbered to cover her blunder and laughed. Inuyasha's perpetual scowl turned a shade darker.

"What makes you think I don't read? Do I look stupid to you?"

Kagome's laugh died instantly. She stared at the glaring man with a dumbstruck look on her face, trying to understand how he had came to that conclusion.

"I... didn't mean that..."

"Then what did you mean?" Inuyasha asked accusingly. He had instinctively moved closer to her, his body coiled like a spring, ready to bounce. Fighting with people was the only way he knew how to communicate, it was what he knew best. They were on his territory now.

"I meant that not everybody likes to read, that's all. It has nothing to do with your intelligence!", Kagome snapped. Two could play this game.

Inuyasha's right eye twitched and Kagome groaned.

When Inuyasha opened his mouth to bark out something at her, Kagome instinctively lunged forward and slapped her hand to his mouth with a move she had perfected with her little brother. Inuyasha's eyes widened to comical proportions when he felt the soft skin of her palm press against his lips and sensitive nose. Whatever fight he had in him died instantly and his body went completely slack. Suddenly there was nothing in the world that he cared about besides Kagome and her addictive scent. The very same scent that had pulled him to her in the first place, on that one morning.

Inuyasha wanted to laugh then. He had been wrong. So wrong. They weren't even near his territory. It was all hers and he was just passing through.

For Kagome all of this looked like Inuyasha was backing down and she offered him a small apologetic smile before removing her hand from his face. Inuyasha wanted to lean forward to chase her, to press his face against her soft small hand again. He caught himself just in a nick of time, embarrassed and angered by his own thoughts. And still, he couldn't move away from her.

"I don't think you're stupid", she started, her voice demanding his attention, "but I don't know you so I can't really say if you're smart, either."

"Keh", Inuyasha huffed.

Inuyasha and Kagome shared a silent moment, this one far more comfortable than all the other silent moments they had shared previously. They were both content listening to the sounds of the forest, letting the small wind that managed to reach them to mess with their hair.

Soon enough, Inuyasha had enough of the silence again and waved the book he still had in his posession in front of Kagome's face.

"You never told me what this is about", he said, with a slightly playful tone that brought a boyish quality into his rough voice. Kagome very much liked that.

"It's about a very prideful woman and a man who can't see past people's appearances, and how they work out their differences and fall in love", she said after considering her answer for a few moments. Inuyasha studied the book's for a few moments and then tossed it back to Kagome.

"Sounds boring", he said bluntly.

"It's not", Kagome said.

"Sure is."

"No it's not! I'll prove it to you!"

Kagome riffled through the pages, trying to find a good part to read out loud. After a while she gave up with a huff and put the book down with bit more force than she usually would use.

"Well?" Inuyasha asked.

"Every part I found was boring", Kagome muttered.

"Like I said", Inuyasha said arrogantly.

"It's an old book", Kagome replied like it would explain everything.

"Why are you reading it if it's so boring?"

Kagome considered for a moment. "Because the good parts of the book overshadow the less good parts."

If Inuyasha had expected anything from her answer it wasn't that. He looked at Kagome, really looked at her. She was beautiful, that type of beauty that if she had lived 200 years earlier there would be hundreds of bad poems written about her. Her unruly inky black hair cascaded down her shoulders, framing her delicate face. Her large dark eyes were fanned by long black lashes that cast shadows on her flawless skin that shone with healthy glow, and her full pink lips seemed to always possess a hint of smile. All and all she was gorgeous and Inuyasha didn't know what to think of her.

She thought he was a demon but she never acted like humans tended to act around demons – she wasn't afraid of him, didn't think he was something less than she was or wasn't morbidly curious about how many people he could kill with one strike. She sat next to him on that quilt like he wasn't equipped with deathly claws and fangs and strength to rip her in half. No, Kagome sat there like he was just another human being. Inuyasha liked the feeling the realization brought to him.

"I guess that makes sense", he replied thoughtfully, though neither he or Kagome knew if he was talking about the book or something else entirely. A small smile was twisting his upper lip, one sharp canine peaking from under it. Kagome's heart jumped a bit.

 _Smile suits him much better than scowling,_ she decided, the feeling Inuyasha caused on her skin intensifying.

Kagome shifted her position, wrapping her arms around her knees and supporting her cheek against them as she studied the man next to her.

"What do you like to do for fun?" She asked while Inuyasha moved to sit back down on his favored pose of crossed legs and arms. Kagome thought it was a fair question since they had been talking about her reading hobby quite excessively.

"I don't have time to do things for fun", Inuyasha replied nonchalantly and leaned his head against the tree.

"Oh", Kagome's left brow raised, barely hiding her excitement. "What do you do then that keeps you so busy?"

Inuyasha closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. "It's getting late. You should probably head back."

The excitement drained from Kagome like air from a broken balloon. Inuyasha cracked open his eye to peer at the deflated looking woman and what he saw made him wince. He hadn't meant anything with his comment, it was just an observation on how it had gotten darker around them. The last thing he wanted was her to think he was now suddenly rejecting her.

"I'll walk you home", he blurted in a moment of panic, desperate to make his intentions clear. His panic wasn't long lived, however, when Kagome brightened visibly at his suggestion. She nodded enthusiastically, grabbed her book and clambered up on her feet, Inuyasha following behind her far more elegantly. Before she even had straightened out her skirt, Inuyasha had gathered up the quilt and tucked it securely under his arm, earning him a coy smile from Kagome, as if she was suddenly shy around him.

Like their first conversation hadn't been them screaming their heads off at each other.

Inuyasha gestured Kagome to lead go first, and together they started their trek towards Kagome's house. The journey was made in companionable silence that was broken only when Kagome's house peaked through the trees. Inuyasha handed the quilt he was carrying back to Kagome. She pressed the slightly warm bundle against her chest like it was something precious.

"Good night Inuyasha", she said softly. Inuyasha didn't reply, but Kagome didn't really expect him to. She left him stand there, in the shadow of the forest, crossing the eerily still garden and quietly sliding the back door open. Inuyasha watched her enter, move across the kitchen and finally away from his line of sight. A sudden sense of loss filled him and at that moment, Inuyasha's mind was made.

He would stay. He would try.

...

Kagome hated the third Friday of every month with passion. The reasons for her hate were taking up most of the space in the reading area, talking louder than it was appropriate to do in a library. The group of women who called themselves their little town's Culture Committee were dignified ladies who firmly stated that they used their time in the library to discuss the upcoming events they would organize for the town's benefit. Their time was actually spend on drinking tea, eating treats and gossiping about various residents of the town.

Kagome and her oddities were regular subjects.

The meeting had been going on for the past thirty minutes and Kagome had done her best to hide behind the bookshelves the entire time so the women wouldn't see her and be reminded of her existence. While they kept their conversation fairly innocent and lighthearted, Kagome had the unfortunate privilege of knowing exactly what each of the women were really thinking. Kagome had never encountered anything as venomous as the private musings of the sweet-faced homemakers that now were cheerfully munching on dorayaki and discussing about one of their daughter's upcoming wedding.

Kagome busied herself with pretending to organize the war history section when her sixth sense alerted her on someone approaching. She tensed instinctively but the old jazz tunes filling her head informed her that it was just Kaede, making her rounds in the library. She soon appeared from behind the shelves, humming along to the music in her head. When she noticed Kagome her visible eye lit up and she pattered over to her as fast as her old joints let her.

"Kagome! There you are! I've been looking for you", she exclaimed, her eye sparkling mischievously. "Are you hiding from the Culture Committee again?"

Kagome let out a pitiful little sound. She didn't even bother with trying to lie. "If they see me they will start talking!"

Kaede chuckled. "That is what they do to everyone my child. Do you think they let me walk past them without shredding me into tiny pieces?"

"I swear it feels like I'm back in middle school again."

Kagome knew she sounded like a whiny child but she didn't care. She stubbornly wanted to stay in her hiding place and wait for the band of vultures to fly back to their nests.

Kaede shook her head with amusement and then gently yet firmly took Kagome's arm and started to maneuver her towards the front desk.

"I actually went to middle school with few of them and they were exactly the same even back then", Kaede informed and tucked Kagome a bit when she started dragging her feet. "Mrs. Ishikawa hid my shoes more than once and Mrs. Minami told they boy that I liked that I had lice."

Kagome made a face. "Not a lot has changed from those days."

"Some people think they can achieve happiness in their own unfulfilled lives by making everyone feel inferior to them", Kaede said matter-of-factly. The pair was now closing in on the chattering ladies and Kagome tried to tune them out as best as she could.

She failed spectacularly.

" _Oh it's the Higurashi girl! My my, she looks just as pale and miserable as always."_

" _Poor Kagome Higurashi. Such a pretty girl but what is that good for when you are stupid and crazy."_

" _Insanity runs in the family. Only a crazy woman would go through what Mrs. Higurashi went with those Saito kids. Should have focused on your own nutjob of a daughter instead."_

" _She's always walking around with her nose up like she's better than the rest of us. Crazy little bitch is what she is."_

" _Don't even look at her! Remember what happened with Mr. Fujiwara. The girl went crazy on the poor man when he was just trying to be kind to her, who knows what she could do -"_

"Where did you hear that?" Kagome snapped. The mousy looking woman who she had directed her question to jumped in her chair and everyone seated around the table turned to look at Kagome.

"I'm sorry but I don't have the faintest clue of what you are talking about", the woman said politely after slightly recovering from the scare Kagome had gave her.

"About what happened between me and Mr. Fujiwara. Where did you hear about that?"

Kagome knew she was now only feeding the fire but she was too furious to care. Had someone seen them? Or was the terrible old man spreading rumors about her to get some form of revenge?

The women around the table were now whispering frantically to each other. The woman Kagome had confronted was looking at her with her mouth gaping open.

"I... I... I...", she stammered, looking like Kagome had grown two extra heads and started spitting fire.

Kagome ignored her. She took a deep breath and focused, allowing herself to slip into the mind of the woman in front of her. A scene flooded into her mind, unfocused on the edges, faces blurry except for Mr. Fujiwara. He was surrounded by people in what looked like the local bar, a bottle of beer in his hand, his face beet read as he told animatedly about the lunatic Kagome Higurashi who had threatened him with violence when he, in all of his kindness, had only been trying to help her with her education, that poor girl who couldn't seem to get anywhere in her life. Someone had offered him another bottle and Fujiwara had taken it, a disgusting smile spreading on his face when he knew he had captured his audience.

Kagome felt her eyes dampening and without a word she fled from the gawking women, pushing past Kaede who seemed like she had frozen on the spot, and going straight to the back room door. Kagome was crying openly now, heavy tears trailing down her cheeks and she didn't even bother to try and stop them. She was hurt and she was humiliated and she didn't care who saw her. Who knew who had heard Mr. Fujiwara's story by now - stories like that traveled fast in a town that small - and how many had believed it.

 _Probably everyone,_ she thought bitterly and broke into a sob that shook her whole body. She had now reached the door and was fumbling with her keys, barely seeing the lock through the haze of her tears. The only thing in her mind was to get away, get home, run into the forest, to the house on the hill, to...

Three things happened at the same time. She heard the front door of the library swing open. She felt a gust of air ruffling her hair. And she felt the soft, now familiar caressing feeling spreading throughout her body.

Kagome turned on her heel to face a pair of worried golden eyes just few a steps from her.

There he was, in her library, dressed in a red hoodie, jeans and sneakers so worn they looked like they might spontaneously fall apart. He was donning a black baseball cap on his head and it took Kagome a few seconds to realize it was to cover his ears, although why he bothered was a mystery to her since he still stuck out like a sore thumb from the humans around him. If she hadn't been bawling her eyes out Kagome would have asked him about it. The cap also made reading him harder for her, although his distress was visible from miles away even without his ears flickering like broken light bulbs. He looked so out of place Kagome wanted to giggle through her tears.

"Kagome! Why are you crying?" Inuyasha asked with a frantic voice, and if Kagome would have been paying attention she would have realized this was the first time he had ever said her name.

Inuyasha hovered now within touching distance from Kagome but was obviously hesitant to step any closer. "What happened?" He demanded.

"It's nothing", she said with a small voice, wiping her face, hoping her eyes weren't too red and puffy. Inuyasha's dark brows came together with obvious displeasure.

"If it's nothing then why are you crying?" He pushed. Kagome hugged herself, feeling small and pathetic under his intense stare. To avoid him she glanced over Inuyasha's shoulder to the direction of the women, who were now gawking at the sight of the tall, silver haired man who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Inuyasha turned to see what Kagome was looking at, his face soon twisting into a scowl.

"They say something to you?" He asked, anger seeping into his voice.

"Not exactly, they just don't think too highly of me", Kagome said, aiming for a humorous tone but missing it by a mile. Her tears had stopped, the sight of Inuyasha calming her down and making her feel safe. She knew she'd have to look deeper into that particular feeling but at the moment she didn't have the energy.

"What were they thinking?" Inuyasha asked as he studied the women. He then let out a snort. "Do they even think?"

"It wasn't really anything I haven't heard before", Kagome replied. Her voice was still shivering. "Just things about how I'm either crazy or stupid or both."

"So what's the problem then?" Inuyasha asked impatiently. "I know you're not crying just because someone thinks you're stupid or whatever."

Kagome took a shuddering breath. "Remember that day when we first met? When you saw me talking with... That man." There was suddenly a bad taste in her mouth.

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah the old man who was giving you trouble. What about him?"

"Well, I found out he has been lying to people about what happened because one of those women was thinking about it. And now that I'm saying this aloud it sounds really silly but I guess it just hurt to know that people might believe the things he says about me", Kagome told while avoiding looking at Inuyasha. She felt too humiliated to tell him how Mr. Fujiwara had upset her in the first place and she silently begged that he still wouldn't push her to tell him what had happened.

She was lucky that Inuyasha didn't really seem to care about the why's and how's at that moment.

"Which one?" He asked nonchalantly, and without reading too much into it Kagome pointed out the woman.

Before she could move another muscle, Inuyasha made his way to the group of women with long purposeful strides, passing the shocked-looking Kaede and a few other customers who had came to see what the fuss was about. Kagome let out a panicked squeak and hurried after him.

"Oi, you!" Inuyasha barked, directing his words to the suddenly ashen looking mousy woman.

"Y-yes", the woman seemed to shrink in her chair as Inuyasha came to a stop right in front of her. He leaned slightly forward so he towered over her, looking like he would tear into the cowering woman at any possible second.

"Whatever you have heard about Kagome from that old bastard is a lie, so you better not go around repeating that bullshit to anyone", Inuyasha was now all but growling. The woman looked like she might faint.

"I... I haven't said anything..." She managed to whisper, her voice hoarse.

"Good, 'cause if you do I will find out", Inuyasha smirked, his lip curling and revealing the sharp canines underneath. He lifted his hand up slowly, making sure he present his deathly looking claws to everyone around them, and with a deliberate slowness cracked joints of each of his five long fingers, one at a time. The sound made Kagome grimace.

Basking in the silence that followed his threat Inuyasha relaxed his posture and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Now", he started, "if we are done here gather your shit and get out."

The women didn't need to be told twice. They nearly tripped on each other while gathering their belongings and hurrying out of the library, their whispering making them sound like a group of angry snakes. Kagome shamelessly listened to their retreating thoughts and while all of them were in various stages of fright, some of them seemed strangely excited about encountering a real demon. Kagome instantly knew what the next big news of the town was going to be and she sighed.

"What", Inuyasha asked, his attention now back on Kagome.

"Most people of this town have never met a demon before and now you're here, threatening the biggest gossips because they were thinking mean things about me, so I'd say in about two hours everyone will know that Kagome Higurashi is friends with a demon", Kagome replied, with pricklier tone than she had intended. Inuyasha rubbed the back of his neck while peering down at his toes, looking slightly guilty.

"Well, you were upset and I didn't know what else to do", he said quietly. Wave of warmth washed over Kagomes and she gently reached to touch the back of his hand. Feeling like sparkles spread from her fingers and up her arm when her skin made contact with his. Inuyasha looked at her hand and then her face. His heart skipped a beat. Kagome's soft eyes were shining under the ugly fluorescent lamps, looking at him like he had just said something beautiful and poetic instead of just admitting his own social inabilities.

"Thank you, Inuyasha", she said, voice soft and warm, her soft fingers still pressing against his hand.

Inuyasha swallowed and nodded, not trusting his voice to not crack. Then, suddenly remembering they had an audience Inuyasha took a hasty step back and the contact between them broke. Kagome looked slightly disappointed but recovered quickly.

"So", she started quickly just to avoid things becoming awkward, "what brought you here? I doubt you came all this way to just scare some housewives."

Inuyasha snorted. "No I actually need something."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Picking up a reading hobby?"

"Nah, I need to check out some basics about electric work."

"Electric work?" Kagome's interest was definitely piqued.

"Yeah, like installing electric wires to houses and stuff."

"Are you renovating?" Kagome asked casually as she beckoned Inuyasha to follow her. She hoped he wouldn't catch on on how excited she was to have this tiny bit of information about him.

"Not really, but living without electricity is annoying as hell", he replied bit distractedly as he took in the rows and rows of books that Kagome was expertly guiding them through. "Do you actually remember where every book goes?"

Kagome laughed a bit at that. "Yes, it's part of my job. Okay, these should be right." She stopped in front of a small cluster of books.

Inuyasha frowned. All the books had long, complicated names and he really wasn't into that.

"Here", Kagome said and picked a book from the shelf and showing it to Inuyasha, "this one is actually a textbook that is used in training electricians."

"It better have lots of pictures", Inuyasha grunted, taking the book and leafing through it. Kagome couldn't stop smiling, what happened only minutes prior just a bad memory now.

After deeming the book worthwhile Inuyasha turned to Kagome. "When do you get off?"

Kagome checked her wristwatch. "Still five hours to go. I'm closing tonight."

"Okay", Inuyasha replied. He then unceremoniously plopped down to the floor with his legs crossed and started reading. "I'll wait here."

Kagome blinked. "The whole five hours?"

"Sure."

Kagome worried her lip for a moment, wanting to argue that he was being stupid and then gave up, knowing it would be useless. "Are you sure you don't want to read in the reading area?"

"No", he replied bluntly.

"Alright then. I guess I'll see you. In five hours", Kagome said slowly and with that left him to his privacy.

Precisely five hours later Kagome felt Inuyasha approaching her. She put the last book in her hands away and turned to give him a tired smile.

"Ready?" Inuyasha asked, clearly more than ready himself.

"Yeah, let's go", Kagome sighed and rubbed her temples, sharing his sentiment wholeheartedly. She had developed a headache that wouldn't quit, and she knew very well why.

Like Kagome had predicted, the news of a demon's arrival had spread across the town like a plague, along with the information that Kagome Higurashi knew him and that they were at the library. Kagome didn't mind being stared at or talked about like she wasn't there since it was just part of her life, but the thought of people gawking at Inuyasha like he was some animal in a zoo got her blood boiling. It didn't help either that she had been the one to put him in that position. The silver lining was that no-one seemed to care that Kagome had yelled at the Culture Committee ladies for seemingly no reason or that Inuyasha had threatened them afterwards. They all just wanted to see the demon.

The two of them exited the library in heavy silence. Inuyasha waited for Kagome to lock the door behind them and then walked with her to where Kagome's bike leaned against the wall. After Kagome unlocked the bike and secured her things in the basket they stood still for a few awkward moments before Kagome felt compelled to speak.

"I'm sorry about today", she said quietly, gripping the handles of her bike.

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault", Inuyasha grunted.

"I kind of feel like it was".

"It wasn't so drop it".

"That doesn't make me feel any less bad", she sighed. "It's humiliating, being stared at like that and you don't deserve it."

"It's just life", Inuyasha shrugged. Kagome felt her heart breaking a bit at that and she turned to look away from him so she wouldn't start crying again. The emotional roller coaster the day had been had really worn her out.

"Let's just go home", she murmured thickly and started pushing her bike away from the library.

Inuyasha groaned mentally as he hurried after her. She was sad again and it was his fault, somehow. Before he could say something however, Kagome's phone chimed and she stopped to dig through her massive bag to find it. Inuyasha had seen the amount of junk she carried around and was amazed that she managed to actually find what she needed without too much hassle.

She unlocked the screen and let out a humorless chuckle.

"'Heard you're friends with a demon. Why didn't you tell'", she read out loud and scrolled down a bit "'Mama says to ask him for tea tomorrow.'" She scrolled down. "'Grandpa says to ask him for tea tomorrow.'" A scroll down. "'I say ask him for tea tomorrow.'"

Kagome sighed and dropped the phone into the bag again.

"I suppose you wouldn't want to have tea with my family tomorrow?"

Inuyasha shrugged, feigning indifference but his suddenly rigid pose exposed him.

"You don't have to come. They can be... A lot to handle", Kagome said and a smile ghosted on her lips, "well, Grandpa can be a lot to handle."

"If you want me to come then I'll come", Inuyasha grunted.

"Well... I do want you to come", Kagome admitted, blushing instantly. She quickly started walking her bike again.

"Are you gonna walk the whole way home or what?" Inuyasha suddenly asked, making Kagome stop dead on her tracks.

"Huh?"

"Well you just keep pushing the bike instead of actually riding the damn thing."

"Oh", Kagome exclaimed. "Well I was just assuming we would walk to where you are parked."

"Where I'm parked?" Inuyasha repeated, obviously very entertained by the thought.

"Well I don't know how you got here", Kagome huffed, her cheeks tinting to red, "I don't know what vehicle you use when you stalk people."

"I'm not a stalker!" Inuyasha snapped. "And for your information, I run."

"You run?" Kagome asked with a dry voice, raising one skeptical eyebrow.

"Yeah. Just get going, I'll show you!"

Kagome studied him for a moment but hopped onto her bike and started pedaling. Inuyasha started with a light jog alongside Kagome. They maintained their eye contact and Inuyasha grinned.

"Race you to your house?" He said cheekily. Kagome rolled her eyes but upped her speed and soon they raced side by side, Kagome pushing herself to her limit while Inuyasha didn't seem to even realize how fast he was going. He had removed his cap and stuffed it in the front pocket of his hoodie, making his hair free to flow behind him like a silver flag, shining in the light of the setting sun. He was grinning widely, looking more relaxed than Kagome had ever seen him, and when she was watching him Kagome couldn't help but grin too.

About halfway through the main road out of the town Kagome hailed Inuyasha to slow down since her legs were starting to burn from exhaustion. Looking unbearably smug Inuyasha fell in step with her and the rest of their journey to Kagome's house was traveled in light jogging speed. When they saw the house looming in their horizon Kagome came to a full stop and hopped down and started pushing her bike.

"I'm not in a hurry to get pestered by uncomfortable questions as soon as I open the door", she said when Inuyasha gave her a questioning look.

"Like what?"

"Well, like how we met for example. I'm sure you don't want them to know all the details."

Inuyasha winced.

"But I'm sure it's mostly about you, who you are and where you come from, stuff like that", Kagome continued, painfully aware that she didn't know much more than her family did.

Inuyasha watched her for a moment without saying a word, obviously thinking about something. Then he nodded and started walking again, his hands tucked deep into his front pocket. Kagome hurried to catch up with him.

"So", she started casually as they slowly but surely neared the front yard, "how fast can you actually run? You didn't even have to catch a breath when we stopped."

Inuyasha adopted an arrogant look and huffed "That wasn't even running. Humans are just slow."

Kagome ignored him. "Can you outrun a car?"

"Easily", Inuyasha bragged, his chest puffing. Kagome rolled her eyes but a smile tugged her lip upward nonetheless.

"Do you run everywhere?" She asked.

"Yes. It's faster."

Kagome decided to poke a bit further, now that she had the opening. "What else can you do? I've read about demons who can fly or turn into mist."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Can't do any of that shit. Do I look like a fucking bat demon to you?"

Kagome stopped again and turned to look at him properly, scanning him from head to toe. Inuyasha took an instinctive step back when Kagome's eyes stopped at the top of his head. Suddenly the young woman burst into laugh.

"Of course", she giggled, "how didn't I realize before. You're a dog demon!"

Inuyasha blushed a bit. "Well, isn't it obvious?" He barked.

Kagome just continued walking, still snickering as she went.

"What's so funny?" Inuyasha muttered and fell into step next to the woman.

"Well, your name sure makes a lot more sense this way", she said, smiling up to him. Inuyasha huffed.

"So, what can dog demons do, if not fly or turn into mist?" Kagome continued her questioning teasingly. Something flashed in Inuyasha's eyes but it was gone as soon as it had appeared.

"I'm strong", Inuyasha shrugged.

Kagome nodded thoughtfully. "Many demons are, based on what I've heard."

"But I'm stronger", Inuyasha said with a haughty tone.

"I believe you."

They were now nearing Kagome's front yard.

"So", Kagome started, "we'll see tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I guess so", Inuyasha replied.

They stopped just before the gravel of the driveway started and stayed still, sharing a quiet moment. Neither of them wanted to be the first one to leave.

"Well", Kagome said with a deep breath, breaking the silence. "Good night."

"Good night", Inuyasha replied.  _Well that's a first_ , Kagome thought, warmth spreading in her.

She had already taken few steps forward when Kagome remembered something. She turned around to look at Inuyasha who was watching her departure his hands shoved into his pocket. Their eyes locked for that moment, and they both felt the current of unsaid things flowing between them.

Inuyasha was the one to break the contact, looking down to the ground, his head bowed so Kagome couldn't see his face. Then, with his long strides he hurried past Kagome and sprinted towards the forest, leaving Kagome stand alone on her family's front yard.

Taking in a deep breath Kagome shook herself from the daze Inuyasha always seemed to leave her in and prepared herself for the upcoming onslaught of questions from her family that would surely follow the instant she stepped inside. Strengthening herself she pushed her bike towards the house, hoping that she would manage to evade her family and just crawl into bed and sleep for ten hours.

Kagome sincerely hoped that the next day would be less exhausting.

...

Kagome was exhausted.

She was dead tired and had been ever since she came home the day before. Her family had, like she had suspected, waited for her at the door, bombarding her with questions about Inuyasha and what had happened in the library. Kagome had dodged them by declaring that she was tired and that she was going straight to bed, and while they did leave her alone, their very loud thoughts concerning her didn't. It wasn't until past midnight that she was able to fall asleep after Sota finally settled down and the house went quiet enough for her to relax. In the morning Kagome had woken up tired and cranky. She had barely managed to get dressed and brush her teeth before Sota burst into the bathroom, his mind filled with questions that varied from innocent to downright intrusive. Before he managed to start his tirade Kagome threw her toothbrush at him and fled into the kitchen, yelling at her little brother to mind his own business. She had then stuffed her mouth full of breakfast as fast as she could and was out of the house before anyone could voice their thoughts, pedaling towards the town with an unmatched frenzy.

She nearly fell over twice.

When she got to work things took a turn from annoying to downright maddening. She was the first person to arrive and the hour she spent on opening the library was the only quiet moment she got during the day, even if anyone barely talked to her. People had came to the library again that day to see if Inuyasha was back, but for their (and Kagome's) disappointment he hadn't shown his face.

 _Maybe he got all he needed,_ Kagome thought apathetically.

So, when the townsfolk couldn't leer at the freshly introduced demon, they chose to leer at Kagome, the next best thing. After all, she had been the town freak for better part of her life, and now people had the perfect moment to hash out old memories of her strange outbursts and her freakish ability to tell exactly what someone wanted to say or do.

Only person to treat her with any semblance of normality was Kaede, and even her thoughts weren't free from curiosity. She wanted to know who Inuyasha was and how he had met Kagome and what their relationship was, but her curiosity wasn't the voyeuristic type the rest of the town had. She was happy for Kagome. She knew how rare it was for Kagome to make friends – so far she had only one person in her life who held that title – and the show Inuyasha had put up in the library only proved that there was something potentially deeper between the two. Kagome was too tired to think about such things herself so she didn't bother to be embarrassed.

When she got out of work Kagome was about ready to collapse. She wanted nothing more than to get home and go to the forest to sit in silence with Inuyasha. That thought flew out the window when she stepped out from the employer backdoor and discovered Inuyasha leaning against the wall next to her bike, sporting the same outfit he had the day before, the cap firmly pulled over his ears.

Kagome groaned. Inuyasha lifted his brows.

"Nice to see you too", he grunted.

"It's not that", Kagome said and rubbed her eyes. "I completely forgot you were supposed to come today."

Inuyasha slumped a bit. "Well I don't have to come if you don't want me to."

"No, no, it's not that", Kagome shook her head, "I'm just really tired that's all. I don't know if I can ride the bike without falling over."

Inuyasha studied her for a moment. He then pushed off the wall and moved to stand in front of Kagome so her path to her bike was blocked.

"I'll carry you", he said bluntly. Kagome thought she had finally started hearing things due exhaustion.

"What?" She asked dumbly.

"I'll carry you if you're so tired", Inuyasha said, his voice completely serious.

"What about my bike?" Kagome asked and due to her slight shock not realizing she was agreeing to something so outrageous.

"I'll carry it too", Inuyasha replied simply.

"It's too heavy."

"I told you, I'm strong", Inuyasha huffed, and as if to demonstrate he lifted Kagome's bike with one arm like it weighed nothing and heaved it up on his shoulder. Kagome's eyes widened.

"Your other stuff next", Inuyasha said and dumbstruck Kagome handed her large bag over without uttering a word.

"Shit, woman, this is heavy. What do you have in there?" Inuyasha grunted as he secured the bag under his arm, making sure the straps wouldn't slip his shoulder.

"Stuff", Kagome answered distractedly. Inuyasha looked absolutely ridiculous, holding a bike on his shoulder while carrying a large overstuffed bag on his other shoulder, acting like that was just what he did during his afternoons. Kagome prayed no one saw him.

When he was sure his load was somewhat secure he crouched down and nodded his head to beckon Kagome to come closer.

"Climb on and hold tight", he urged her. That shook her out of her stupor.

"Inuyasha this is ridiculous. Put the bike down", Kagome commanded.

"Shut up and hop on or I'll leave without you and take all your shit with me." It wasn't an idle threat.

Kagome breathed in and out few times before she took a few unsure steps towards Inuyasha. He nodded to her encouragingly and Kagome reached to wrap her slightly shaking hands around his neck. The instant her hand brushed against Inuyasha's skin jolts spread through her body and from the way he shivered she knew Inuyasha had similar feelings. Kagome then wrapped her legs around his waist, going bright red from the way her body pressed against his very firm back. Inuyasha reached back with his free arm and secured her on her spot with his arm under her bottom before swiftly standing up. He shifted her upwards in a way that suggested he was carrying a back bag and not a flesh and blood woman who he was holding against himself rather intimately, and who was sure she would spontaneously explode any second now.

"You good?" He asked. Kagome only managed to form a strange throat sound as a reply.

 _I'm so glad I wore jeans today_ she thought.

"Let's go then", Inuyasha said and without another warning he shot off. All of Kagome's embarrassed thoughts evaporated instantly as she let out a half surprised, half horrified cry and pressed her face against Inuyasha's shoulder. The speed he was moving was lot faster than she had anticipated, and she realized that his confident reply to the question if he was able to outrun a car hadn't been just bragging. Inuyasha moved like he had forgotten he was carrying a bike, a large bag and a 115-pound woman on his back. He also had seemingly forgot that Kagome wasn't used to moving in such speeds without a metric ton of metal around her.

"Inuyasha", Kagome groaned against his shoulder, feeling like her heart was going to leap out from her throat, "please go slower."

Inuyasha slowed down instantly and craned his head so he could catch a sight of Kagome. As she felt Inuyasha going slower Kagome dared to lift her eyes.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. Just... Wasn't expecting you to be that fast", Kagome said sheepishly and Inuyasha huffed. Inuyasha had slowed down to what he considered a jog and what was a speed more pleasant for Kagome. Now that she wasn't fearing for her life she found out she actually enjoyed her mode of transportation. The familiar scenery rolled past them and the wind caught her hair, making Kagome laugh, the sound full of joy and life. Inuyasha's heart beat just a tiny bit faster.

Soon – too soon as Kagome found herself thinking – they were yet again edging the Higurashi family's front yard. Inuyasha came to a halt and without too much grace let Kagome fall from his back as he placed her bike to the ground. Kagome stretched her legs to shake off the stiffness and turned to Inuyasha who was fiddling with her bike's handles as he pushed onward, nervousness radiating from him now that they were there. Kagome was just as nervous about Inuyasha meeting her family as he was, but made a brave attempt at trying to hide it.

"Hey", she said cheerfully, drawing Inuyasha's attention to herself. The familiar caresses traveled through her body when his golden eyes met hers.  _I can't hear his thoughts but I can physically feel him watching me,_ she thought.  _Maybe that's what it's like with demons._

She knew that wasn't the case.

"We are in this together, okay?" Kagome said with an assured voice. Inuyasha frowned.

"You sound like we're going to a war. It's just your family", he said gruffly. Kagome liked the sound of that 'we'.

"If they get too overwhelming give me a sign and I'll make them stop. I really don't want my family to chase you away by pestering you with too many questions", she said.

Inuyasha's blushed lightly and only responded with a simple "keh".

They had reached the house now. Inuyasha left the bike to lean against the wall and gave Kagome's bag back to her. Inuyasha then eyed the front door.

"They are waiting for us", Inuyasha murmured quietly.

"I know, they are close enough that I can hear them too", Kagome replied just as quietly. The excited thoughts of her family practically radiated through the door. Her eye twitched in annoyance.

"How far can you hear people from?" Inuyasha asked, eyes still firmly on the door as he pulled his black cap back on his ears. The casual way he was talking about her sixth sense was rather nice.

"If they are close enough that I'd hear them talking I can also hear their thoughts", Kagome explained while walking up to the door, carrying her massive bag on the crook of her left arm and beckoning him to stay a bit further. "I can also hear them through walls!" She yelled and opened the door with a loud, dramatic bang. And like she had predicted she was faced with her mother, little brother and grandfather, all huddling together in the foyer, all looking surprised by her entrance and yet without an ounce of shame.

 _Why would they be ashamed anyway,_ she thought dryly,  _when they have this opportunity to make me look like an absolute fool._

"Kagome! Welcome home!" Her mother greeted brightly, the first one to recover.

"I see we are being expected", Kagome replied with a raised eyebrow, dropping the bag to the ground with a loud thud. Sota had the decency to look sheepish while their grandfather openly tried to peer past Kagome to catch a glimpse of Inuyasha.

Kagome sighed.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet someone", she said, trying her hardest to stay polite. She stepped aside so her family could see properly past her. "Everyone, this is Inuyasha. Inuyasha, this is my family."

Inuyasha, who looked extremely awkward and about ready to bolt, chose to only give a rigid bow.

"This is my mother", Kagome said, "this is my grandfather and this is my little brother, Sota."

"It is so wonderful to meet you Inuyasha!" Mrs. Higurashi said with her warmest voice and stepped forward. "Please do come in!"

" _He's so handsome! That hair and those eyes! Why didn't Kagome tell us about him before!"_

Kagome waited for Inuyasha to enter the house and stepped in after him. After Inuyasha and Kagome both had removed their shoes Kagome's mother smilingly guided Inuyasha into their tatami room. He obediently followed her, shooting a glance at Kagome. She nodded, mouthing "I'll be there in a minute", and after Inuyasha had slipped away from her view she turned to her grandfather and younger brother.

"Two of you better watch what you say", Kagome said darkly. "Especially you, Grandpa."

"I wasn't gonna say anything!" Sota protested. Their grandfather just huffed and started on his habit of pulling his beard.

"And you better not, or else", Kagome threatened and hurried into the tatami room, passing her mother who was heading for the kitchen to get the tea tray. Inuyasha was already seated in the low table, waiting for Mrs. Higurashi to return. He hadn't removed his hat and was keeping his hands firmly in his pocket, his whole body screaming discomfort. Kagome pushed the sliding door closed, seated herself next to him and nudged him slightly with her knee. Inuyasha jolted and looked like he was two seconds away from jumping out of the window.

"So far so good?" Kagome asked quietly with a small smile.

"Yeah. It's just that... I'm not good with people", he admitted, murmuring like he was talking to himself rather than to Kagome.

Kagome's smile turned soft. "Just be yourself. I bet Mama will like you no matter what you say or do."

Inuyasha cocked a brow. "Just your mom?"

"Well, Sota will like you too but Grandpa... We'll he's Grandpa", Kagome said. "He means no harm he's just a bit. Peculiar."

"Keh."

A faint scratching was heard from the door and Kagome and Inuyasha turned to witness a chubby cat paw wedging itself between the door and it's frame, determinedly nudging the door open. When the opening was big enough the paw pulled back and was replaced with a fat cat squeezing its way into the room.

"Buyo! What are you doing?" Kagome exclaimed. The cat, however, ignored her completely. Loudly purring she made her way straight to Inuyasha, jumped onto his lap and started rubbing against his chest. Inuyasha looked surprised for a moment but then his face softened in a way Kagome had never seen before. He freed his right hand from his pocket and gently scratched the feline between her ears. Buyo's purr sounded like a small engine revving.

"Yeah yeah", Inuyasha muttered to the cat, "hello to you too".

"Wow", Kagome said, amazed by the reaction of her usually lethargic and indifferent cat, "she really likes you".

"Glad someone does", Inuyasha said distractedly.

"There is a lot to like about you", Kagome replied, watching how her cat curled on Inuyasha's lap and closed her eyes, clearly content with her chosen spot.

"Like what", Inuyasha asked, barely hiding the real interest in his words.

"I'll tell you when I figure them out."

"Oi!" Inuyasha exclaimed. Kagome giggled.

Just then Mrs. Higurashi sailed in with five cups of tea and an assortment of treats, Sota and Grandpa Higurashi trailing in after her.

"Oh my!" Mrs. Higurashi gasped, watching Buyo napping on Inuyasha's lap. "Buyo sure isn't wasting time making friends."

Sota and Grandpa Higurashi both openly stared at Inuyasha and their family cat bonding as they seated themselves on the pillows around the table, Sota on the other side of Kagome and Grandpa on the opposite side of the table from Inuyasha. Mrs. Higurashi handed a cup of tea to each of them and then sat down across from her daughter, next to Inuyasha.

"So, Inuyasha", Mrs. Higurashi started after everyone had taken a sip of their tea and indulged on a few baked goods. "I wish I could say I've heard a lot about you, but it was my colleague who told me about you instead of my daughter, so I apologize".

"We met only about a week ago", Kagome said defensively. "I didn't think I need to report about every new person I meet."

"Oh Kagome, I was only joking. But do forgive me for being excited, it's not like you to make new friends", Mrs. Higurashi smiled. Kagome squirmed uncomfortably.

"You make me sound like an elementary-schooler", she muttered.

"A mother can never truly see her children as adults", Mrs. Higurashi said to Inuyasha and winked. Inuyahsa took a sip of his tea to avoid any obligation to comment.

"So, how did you two meet?"

Inuyasha choked on the tea.

"Well... We... Uh..." Kagome started, twisting her hands.  _We can't tell the truth or Grandpa will call cops on Inuyasha! We really should have established a story for this one._

"We met in the forest", Inuyasha cut in after recovering. The entire Higurashi household fixed their eyes on him and he realized this was the first time he had spoken in their presence. To hide his panic he took another sip of his tea and nearly choked again.

"In the forest..." Mrs. Higurashi said thoughtfully, "well that sure is a strange place to meet new people."

"It sure is", Kagome laughed nervously. "I was reading and suddenly Inuyasha was there and we started talking and now we're here! It's so weird how things happen sometimes!"

She was babbling now but she really couldn't come up with a better story that wasn't "he stalked me and I yelled at him for it", so rolling with Inuyasha's explanation was her best option.

"I see. Are you staying nearby then, Inuyasha? People don't often come around here", Mrs. Higurashi inquired conversationally, ignoring any and all awkwardness currently present. She was determined on getting Inuyasha to talk to her and Kagome was secretly pleased. This was her opportunity to really learn more about him because no one got people to open up like Mrs. Higurashi did.

_The police should hire Mama as an interrogator._

"Pretty close", Inuyasha grunted. He had ran out of tea so he couldn't hide behind it, and while Kagome did want to know more about him she had promised Inuyasha that she would be on his side, so she filled his cup again without saying a word. Inuyasha immediately took a sip.

"Well that is good. Makes visiting us easier", Mrs. Higurashi said, watching Kagome and Inuyasha over the rim of her own teacup with sparkling eyes. Kagome's ears turned red when she caught something in her mother's thoughts that sounded dangerously like "grandchildren".

"Mama, please", Kagome whispered, absolutely mortified. Inuyasha looked at her questioningly .

"Will you be staying here for long then?" Mrs. Higurashi continued on like Kagome hadn't made a sound, pouring her father-in-law another cup of tea while waiting for Inuyasha's answer.

"I guess I'll be."

"That is wonderful! So, do you already have a house or are you looking for one?"

"I have a place, it just needs a bit of fixin'", Inuyasha replied. The tension on his shoulders had started disappearing and he had started forming full sentences as he got more comfortable with Mrs. Higurashi's kind brand of interrogation. He even made eye contact with the older woman as he replied to her. Mrs. Higurashi was nodding encouragingly at him and moved the plate of treats closer to him. Inuyasha extracted his hand from where it had lied on top of the now sleeping Buyo, gently picking up a pastry and started nibbling it, reminding Kagome of a child who just got rewarded by their mother.

Kagome's thoughts of how strangely adorable Inuyasha was were rudely interrupted. Mrs. Higurashi didn't seem to care or notice, but the thoughts of Kagome's grandfather and little brother had immediately turned to the claws at the end of Inuyasha's fingertips, and how obviously sharp and dangerous they were, drawing their attention back to his more non-human features that had been momentarily forgotten over a shared of cup of tea.

Before Kagome could stop them they were on it.

"What kind of demon are you - Ow! What was that for?" Sota whined, rubbing his side where Kagome's hard elbow had made contact with. Kagome didn't dignify him with an answer.

"I am... Uh...", Inuyasha started, clearly uncomfortable again. He obviously didn't enjoy being in the spotlight, and whatever comfort Mrs. Higurashi's gentle questioning had brought to him evaporated. He rubbed the back of his head, drawing their attention to the black cap he was still wearing.

"It is rude to wear hat indoors", Grandpa Higurashi injected with his creaky voice. Inuyasha flinched and Kagome grimaced.

"Grandpa please", she sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"The way you act it seems like you have things to hide", Grandpa Higurashi continued, ignoring Kagome. She frowned.  _It's like I'm not even in the room!_

Kagome understood her grandfather's distrust towards Inuyasha. After all, Inuyasha was practically a stranger to her, potentially dangerous, and the circumstances of their meeting were more than suspicious (and he didn't even know the half of it). Still Kagome didn't appreciate him voicing all of it quite so plainly. Hearing his nagging thoughts were enough for her.

Inuyasha locked gazes with Grandpa Higurashi with challenge in his eyes. The old man stared back with his own challenge. After their staring match had gone on for a while Inuyasha reached up and removed the cap slowly, revealing his fuzzy silver ears.

Three different sounds were heard in the room: Mrs. Higurashi's delighted squeal, Sota's surprised gasp and Grandpa Higurashi's unimpressed grunt.

"How wonderful!" Mrs. Higurashi exclaimed, sounding like an excited little girl. "Oh Inuyasha, would you mind terribly if I'd touch your ears?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened but he nodded. Mrs. Higurashi scooted closer to him and gently touched one ear, giving it a tiniest rub. Inuyasha's eyes fluttered.

"They are so soft..." Mrs. Higurashi marveled and Kagome was only a little jealous that her mother got to touch his ears when she hadn't yet.

When Mrs. Higurashi was finished with Inuyasha's ears Inuyasha turned back to the eldest Higurashi and said with a taunting voice: "happy now, old man?"

Before her grandfather could spit out his stinging retort, Kagome stood up, rattling the tea cups as she went.

"Want to tour the house?" She asked with a tone that clearly stated she didn't take a no for an answer. Inuyasha swallowed and stood up, lifting the now awake and protesting Buyo from his lap.

"Don't stand up", Kagome said quickly before Mrs. Higurashi or Sota had gotten a chance to move. "I'll just show him around a bit". She then firmly grabbed Inuyasha's arm and all but dragged him out of the room, throwing one last pointed look at her family and sliding the door close behind them.

"Please don't try to start a fight with my grandfather", Kagome said tiredly, leaning against the wall.

"He was the one startin' it", Inuyasha said defensively, crossing his arms. "But I don't fight old people, so don't worry".

Kagome snorted, pushed from the wall and beckoned Inuyasha to follow. "Let's show you around then."

She led him to the TV room, since it was closest to them. "This is mostly Sota's and his friends territory", Kagome explained as they entered, pointing out several gaming consoles and a library's worth of video games. Inuyasha, however, was more interested in the pictures that covered nearly all available surface and most of the free wall space. Nearly all of them featured smiling Kagome and Sota – either together or alone - in various stages of childhood. Inuyasha soon realized they were often accompanied by another pair of kids he hadn't seen before: a tall pretty girl with shining silky hair who was around the same age as Kagome, and a younger boy whose face was peppered with freckles. They were obviously siblings, with their shared good looks and rather serious expressions. Inuyasha's got curious.

"Who are they?" He asked, pointing at a picture that looked like Kagome's high school graduation photo. In it brightly smiling Kagome had her hand wrapped around the taller girl, both doing the v-sing with their free hand. Sota and the other boy were also in the picture, standing next to their respective sisters.

"Those are Sango and Kohaku", Kagome said, coming to stand next to Inuyasha. "Sango is my best friend and Kohaku is her little brother. They used to live with us from time to time".

"Live with you?" Inuyasha asked, his curiosity growing. "Why?"

Kagome's face turned somber. "Their parents died when they were young and their guardians were not nice people. Sango brought Kohaku and herself here as often as she could". She gave Inuyasha a shrug. "It's not a nice story".

Inuyasha nodded and studied the siblings in the picture again. "Where are they now?"

"Kohaku is studying in Tokyo and Sango travels a lot. She has been abroad for two months now, but when she's in Japan she stays with us. She's like a sister to me", Kagome explained fondly.

Inuyasha absorbed all of the information, his eyes wandering on the photos. There were a few pictures of Sango and Kohaku on their own spread here and there. One especially interesting was a picture of young Sango dressed in a white karate gi with a black belt wrapped around her, serene look on her round face yet her eyes were sparkling from excitement.

"Sango's first black belt. I think she was twelve back then", Kagome told Inuyasha. "She was really good, Mama still has all of her trophies in her room upstairs."

Inuyasha nodded, moving to study the next photo. His lip curled up slightly.

"You do archery?" He asked.

In the picture was a teenaged Kagome, wearing a traditional kyudo outfit and posing with her large bow.

"I was in the kyudo club in high school", Kagome replied with a shrug.

"Any good?"

"I placed 5th in a national championship on my third year."

"Why archery?" Inuyasha asked, genuinely interested.

"The club only had around ten members so it was easiest for me. I was able to concentrate on what I was doing. The whole thing was sort of like meditation for me. I also always wanted to be like the Elves from 'Lord of the Rings'", Kagome added. Inuyasha snorted and moved on.

A much older photo caught his attention next: a smiling young woman in a swimsuit holding a toddler by the hands while they were splashing in water. Inuyasha quickly came to the conclusion that the young woman was Mrs. Higurashi and that had to mean the toddler in the picture wearing a bright red swimsuit and a pair of floaters was Kagome.

"That's me and Mama. She's around my age in that one", Kagome said, confirming Inuyasha's assumptions. She was standing very close to Inuyasha now, to better see what he was watching.

"You two don't look alike", Inuyasha said absentmindedly. Besides their haircuts – young Mrs. Higurashi had a near identical styling to what Kagome's was now – and their warm way of smiling there wasn't anything that physically marked Kagome as the daughter of the woman in the photograph.

"We don't. Everyone says I look more like our father and Sota is the one who looks like Mama", Kagome agreed and then added "I don't look anything like him either though" with slightly bitter voice.

Inuyasha's eyes moved instantly to a large family portrait that was clearly hanging on a place of honor. In the picture four people were gathered around a man who could only be younger Grandpa Higurashi, with charcoal black hair and sharp eyes. Kagome, no older than seven, stood on his right side, wearing a light blue dress and a red ribbon in her hair and a bright smile on her face. Mrs. Higurashi stood on the left, wearing matching dress with Kagome and holding a sleepy-looking baby Sota in bright green overalls. However, Inuyasha was most interested in the man standing behind Kagome. He was tall, sported an easy smile and had his left arm wrapped around the waist of Mrs. Higurashi while his right arm was hugging Kagome tightly.

"That your father?" Inuyasha asked, already knowing the answer. The man sure was as handsome as Kagome was beautiful but besides that Inuyasha couldn't find any other resemblance between them. Inuyasha agreed that while Sota was obviously their mother's son with his kind eyes and slightly upturned nose Kagome looked like she belonged to another family altogether. Inuyasha's eyes moved back to watch the brightly smiling child in the picture, wondering if she had ever felt like an outsider in her own family.

"Yes", Kagome replied simply, pulling Inuyasha back from his musings.

"Where is he?" He asked.

"He died when I was nine. A car crash."

Inuyasha didn't reply anything to that. His eyes went hazy as he seemed to remember something just then.

"Want to get some fresh air?" He asked suddenly. Kagome wanted to ask what was on his mind but chose to save her breath. "Sure", she said instead.

On their way out they passed the tatami room again and frantic whispering could be heard through the thin paper door. Lines "cannot be trusted" and "Kagome's safety" said with her grandfather's squeaky voice were easily deciphered. Kagome and Inuyasha shared a look.

"Your Gramps sure likes talking", Inuyasha commented, his tone neutral.

"Does it make it better that what he says is exactly what he thinks?" Kagome asked as she moved into the kitchen.

"He's being honest. I can respect that".

Kagome stopped before reaching the glass door that lead from the kitchen into their garden and turned to face Inuyasha. They were standing so close now she had to crane her neck to catch his eyes, neither of them realizing their proximity to each other.

"I really am sorry, Inuyasha", she said sincerely. "Grandpa doesn't have anything against you, really, he just worries too much for me. I don't want you to think badly of him."

A corner of Inuyasha's mouth twisted. "Yeah I know", he said, his voice assuring. "And don't you worry about it. I have nothing against the old man. Besides, I've had worse."

"He's going to calm down soon and then he'll probably insists on knowing everything about you", Kagome said with a smile.

"Keh" was all that Inuyasha had to say to that. Kagome laughed and nudged the door open, flipping on the outdoor lights while putting on her slippers that waited her by the door. Inuyasha stepped outside barefooted.

"It's such a pretty night", Kagome sighed. The sun had disappeared down the horizon and the reds and yellows of sunset were replaced by the blue of twilight. The air was cooling down, bringing out all the scents that were hanging in the air after the warm day. Kagome inhaled deeply and closed her eyes so she could savor the moment. Inuyasha watched her attentively.

"You know", Kagome said, opening her eyes and leading the way deeper into the garden, their path illuminated by small electric lanterns lining the stone walkway, "this is my favorite time of day."

"What, night?" Inuyasha asked when they reached the stone bench facing Kagome's grandfather's beloved rose bushes.

"This. When the world goes quiet like this. It's such calm, magical moment", Kagome mused and sat down.

"Keh", Inuyasha huffed, choosing to remain standing. "Don't know about that. World has never been quiet to me."

Kagome smiled, her eyes wandering to Inuyasha's ears. "I bet it never is."

Inuyasha didn't seem to notice how she was looking at him and was thoroughly shaken when Kagome suddenly asked: "can I touch your ears?"

Inuyasha turned to look at Kagome with absolute bewilderment and she blushed bright red. "Forget that", she said quickly and turned away from the man. The question had been so natural and caring when it had came from her mother but for her it suddenly felt very intimate and beyond the relationship she and Inuyasha were sharing.

_Why did I have to ask? It's so weird! Imagine someone coming to you and saying 'Kagome can I touch your -'_

"You can touch them."

Kagome whipped around and instead of looking up to standing Inuyasha she was looking down on him, crouching on the ground right next to her legs, his bright golden eyes shining even in the darkening night.

"What?" She asked dumbly.

"Well, since you asked so nicely you can touch my ears", Inuyasha said with a teasing smirk. Kagome's embarrassment disappeared somewhat and she returned to his smirk with her own.

"We believe in consensual ear touching in this house", she said and Inuyasha snickered. He was silenced quickly when Kagome's soft small finger started gently moving on the outer edge of one of the triangle appendages.

It was the second time someone had touched Inuyasha's ears that day, but the gentle massage Mrs. Higurashi had given didn't even compare to what was happening now. Caressing feeling, the same Kagome felt every time Inuyasha looked at her, was now traveling down Inuyasha's body, from the top of his ears that Kagome was so gently rubbing down to his bare toes that involuntarily curled inward. He had felt it before when Kagome had touched him, but it had never been that strong. It was part frightening, part absolute bliss to him, and he didn't know if he should bolt now and never return or just stay where he was and never move again.

Inuyasha was just as surprised about this turn of events as Kagome was. When she had first asked him if she could touch his ears his mind had gone completely blank. Then, like his body had a mind of its own, he had kneeled down next to Kagome and given her the permission to go ahead. Something in him wanted her to touch him, the desire so strong he willingly made a fool of himself by acting like a touch-starved puppy. And just that was the reason why he wanted to run away. He had never met anyone that could make him feel like that and he had no idea what was going on.

Something passed between them then, and they both felt it.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked after a good while. Inuyasha grunted to let her know he was listening.

"Where do you actually live?"

"Huh?" Inuyasha looked up to her with a drowsy expression.

"It's that... You told Mama you have a place nearby. I was just wondering where it is, that's all", Kagome muttered, fighting down blush.

_I just spent several minutes fondling his ears, I think I'm allowed to ask where he lives! We have crossed that line._

"You know where I live", Inuyasha replied with confusion, moving his head away from Kagome's hands, leaving her twiddling with her suddenly empty fingers.

"I do?" Kagome asked, now confused too.

"Yeah, in the forest. In the old house."

Kagome thought her eyes were going to fall out of their sockets. Inuyasha, who was still crouching on the ground fell to his ass when she lunged onto her feet.

"You live in my house?" She asked with much louder voice than necessary.

"Your house?" Inuyasha looked up on her, his ears flattened against his head. "And I thought you knew. Why else would I be there?"

"Well", Kagome stammered, "I-I thought you came there because... Because I was there." She regretted instantly saying that.

Inuyasha climbed onto his feet again, now looking down on Kagome again.

"You really didn't know I live there?" He asked again, his brows drawing together.

"No", Kagome replied simply, fighting down an embarrassed blush as she plopped down onto the stone bench again. Inuyasha followed hear and seated himself next to her.

"So", Kagome started after a moment of silence, "I didn't know anyone else knew about the house besides me."

"That's the idea", Inuyasha grunted. "My old man built it so no one but me and my mother could find it."

Kagome's jaw fell. "Your... Your father built it for you and your mother?"

"Yeah", Inuyasha replied like he just hadn't dropped more information about himself in one sentence than he had in all week. "He put a spell on it so outsiders can't find it."

"But I found it", Kagome said quietly, and then realized something. "Wait, there's a spell on the house? Like, magical spell?"

Inuyasha snorted. "You can hear people's thoughts, and you don't believe in magic?"

Kagome glared at Inuyasha. "Two years ago I didn't believe in demons either. It's a learning curve."

Inuyasha snorted again. "Like I said, freakier things out there than you."

Kagome opened her mouth to retort, but instead of words she let out a jaw-cracking jawn, and suddenly her mind caught up with how tired her body was.

"Go to sleep Kagome", Inuyasha said, not unfriendly.

"I guess I have to", Kagome said sheepishly and stood up, stretching her arms above her head. Inuyasha stood up as well, his hands securely stuffed into the pocket of his hoodie again.

"We'll see tomorrow, right?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah" was Inuyasha's simple reply.

"Mama and I have a day off tomorrow so we are going to have a big dinner. You should join us. And don't worry, I can talk Grandpa into liking you before that", Kagome added with a laugh when she saw Inuyasha's raised brow.

"Fine."

"Okay then."

They stood facing each other, neither of them moving a muscle.

"You go first", Kagome said.

"No, you go", Inuyasha replied.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Why can't you go first, I always go first."

"Why can't you just go?" Inuyasha asked heatedly.

"Why do I have to be the one to go first?" Kagome shot back, refusing to back up.

"Because!" Was Inuyasha's eloquent reply. Kagome let out a victorious sound, not really knowing why she felt like she was winning some grand battle. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed dangerously, and before Kagome could react he had scooped her up on his arms, holding her like she weighed nothing and with one leap crossed the garden, reaching the door that lead into the kitchen. Kagome barely had time to register the strong arms wrapped around her or the firm chest she was suddenly pressed against before Inuyasha dumped her on her feet on the doorstep.

"Good night, Kagome", Inuyasha said firmly, his eyes glinting in the light of his victory. Kagome was too stunned to respond when Inuyasha opened the door and all but lifted her inside, closing the glass panel after her and effectively shutting her in. Kagome managed to shake herself out from her stupor when Inuyasha took off and she slammed the door open again.

"Cheat!" She yelled after Inuyasha's rapidly shrinking back. She was sure she heard him laughing before she slammed the door closed with force.

"Kagome?" Her mother's voice came from the direction of their TV room. There was a sound of feet suffling against the floor and soon Mrs. Higurashi appeared in the doorway. "Why are you yelling?" She asked.

"For no reason", Kagome said quickly and closed the door, sending one last glare to the forest where she knew Inuyasha was hiding.

"I see. Did Inuyasha go home?"

"Yes, Mama. It's pretty late", Kagome replied and started moving through the kitchen. "I think I'm just going to bed now."

Just then her stomach grumbled and her mother clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

"Not before you eat. We ate before you and Inuyasha came but there is some left for you on the stove. Eat that."

Choosing to not argue with her mother over whether she wanted to eat or not Kagome fixed herself a plate of curry in silence while her mother prepared herself a cup of tea. Sitting down with her tea Mrs. Higurashi watched as her daughter seated herself on the opposite side of the table and started eating. She continued watching her for a while, her thoughts lined with worry before Kagome put down her chopsticks.

"Mama can you stop staring at me while I eat?"

"I'm sorry, dear, I just have a lot in my mind."

"You didn't offend Inuyasha – or me - today and neither did Grandpa, so don't worry about it. In fact I invited him for dinner tomorrow so you'll get another chance at interrogating him", Kagome assured and smiled. Mrs. Higurashi smiled too and shook her head.

"I can't hide anything from you can I?" She asked fondly. Kagome let out a small laugh.

"You can't."

Kagome continued eating, Mrs. Higurashi still watching her but now with lighter spirit.

"What foods do you think Inuyasha likes?" She asked. Kagome chewed thoughtfully and then swallowed, finishing her meal.

"I don't know, but he looks like a meat-eater to me", Kagome replied. Mrs. Higurashi nodded, agreeing.

"How about steaks then?"

"Sure. I'll go to the store tomorrow", Kagome agreed and started clearing the table while her mother finished her cup of tea. She then joined Kagome in doing the dishes.

"Did Sota and Grandpa go to sleep already?" Kagome asked as she handed plates to her mother for drying.

"Yes, after the excitement I sent them both to bed. It was hard to get your grandfather to calm down and Sota was more than eager to start a proper argument", Mrs. Higurashi replied. Kagome grimaced.

"But don't worry", Mrs. Higurashi continued cheerfully, "I got them both to promise that they would respect you in your pursue of a relationship with Inuyasha and not bother you about it!"

A plate slipped from Kagome's hands and landed in the soapy water with a splash. "Relationship? What relationship? We are barely friends!" She stammered, face burning in the deepest shade of red.

"Sure, sure!" Mrs. Higurashi said cheerfully, obviously not buying into anything that Kagome said. The word "grandchildren" floated into Kagome's mind again and she wanted to drown herself in the dishwater.

"Do you think you can finish these yourself Mama? I'm super tired", Kagome asked with a voice three octaves higher than usual.

"Of course I can, dear! Just go to bed!" Mrs. Higurashi replied, acting oblivious to her daughters embarrassed distress.

"Good night then!" Kagome said and after giving her mother a kiss on the cheek sprinted out of the kitchen. Mrs. Higurashi let out a laugh and continued with the dishes, humming a little tune while thinking about how beautiful her daughter would look in a wedding kimono.

Kagome felt like her head would explode as she walked quickly to the foyer to pick up her bag she had left near her shoes.  _Don't get ahead of yourself, Mama,_ she thought, and while she was embarrassed something warm grew inside of her as she listened to her mother's thoughts. Shaking her head and pushing down those feelings she leaned over to grab her bag but stopped half way down. Blinking she looked at the ragged pair of sneakers that were laying next to her neat loafers like they belonged there. Kagome gently picked the shoes up and inspected them with surprise.

"He forgot his shoes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kicked me in the ribs, stole my lunch money and stuffed me into a locker. Writing this was a nightmare. I rewrote almost all the parts several times and somehow this thing became over 13,000 goddamn words long. Now, as a reader I enjoy long chapters, but as a writer I hate them, because editing is my enemy. I'm not very fond of this chapter to be honest since it's just over 13,000 words of exposition. But it's the exposition I wanted to get out of the way before I get into the proper plot so I had to cram the things like how Sango is relevant to the story or where Inuyasha lives (not a surprise to anyone) into one chapter. Also getting the main relationship to where it needs to be for the sake of the upcoming events required so many rewrites and edits I wanted to scream (I have a post-it note glued to my laptop that says "make them argue more"). All and all this chapter was a bit of a bully but I defeated it and now I'm super excited about writing the next chapter, which is titled "Old friends" and you might guess who are introduced in that one. I have a feeling that chapter is much faster to write than this one so I'll be seeing you soon!  
> \- Green


	4. Old friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello yet again and happy last day of pride month! As per usual I have lot of things to say about this chapter but I'm saving most of them to the end. All I say now is that this chapter is finally the one that kicks the actual plot rolling and I couldn't be more happy about that. So I hope you enjoy!
> 
> \- Green
> 
> Warnings: None

 

"It's so hot", Kagome moaned and fanned herself with her book. The cheap fan going back and forth on the kitchen table didn't do much to eradicate the stifling heat and Kagome had half a mind of sticking ice cubes from the freezer under her shirt.

She chose not to but it was tempting.

An unexpected heat wave was sweeping through Japan, taking everybody by surprise. Kagome had woken that morning covered in sweat and her blanket kicked to the floor. Now she was taking refuge from the heat in their kitchen, since the room was shadowed by the forest and so had kept relatively cool in the steadily rising heat.

Relatively cool didn't mean much though as Kagome felt droplets of sweat rolling down her neck.

"Pass the water", Sota croaked from his seat across the table. He was wearing only a blue tank top with his soccer shorts, and he still looked like he wanted nothing more than to strip off the remaining clothing and lay naked on the tiled kitchen floor. Kagome shared his sentiment.

"Get it yourself", she replied, unwilling to move.

"You're closer. Please, I'm dying", Sota whined.

"I'm dying too", Kagome shot back but still moved to push the pitcher of ice water closer to her brother. Her eyes wandered out of glass door and into the garden where their grandfather was kneeling in a flower bed, plucking away any weeds he could find. It was his daily ritual and had refused to skip it even if there was a danger of heat stroke.

 _At least he's wearing that stupid looking gardening hat of his,_ Kagome thought wryly. She then pushed herself from her chair, poured a glass of water and pushed the glass door open to the side.

"Grandpa!" She called. "Come and get some water!"

There was no reaction from the old man. Kagome huffed, slipped on her slippers and marched into the garden, the glass in her hand. She stopped right behind her grandfather who was digging his fingers into the dirt while muttering curses against the weeds under his breath. Kagome cleared her throat and the old man jumped.

"You need to drink water", Kagome said when her grandfather had recovered and she helped him up from the grass and offered the glass to the old man who emptied it with few long swigs.

"Thank you my girl", Grandpa Higurashi said, handed the glass back to Kagome and kneeled back down with cracking joints. Kagome sighed.

"Please come inside Grandpa", she pleaded. "You're been at it since noon and it's way too hot for gardening."

 _It's way too hot for anything,_ she thought _._  It was well past midday and Kagome still felt like she was stuffed into an oven. All she wanted to do was to lounge in a shade, read and drink something cold. And yet something told her that wasn't going to happen.

"Kagome! Come and help me with the laundry!"

Kagome stifled a groan and turned to the direction of her mother carrying a laundry basket on her hip, followed by a defeated looking Sota.

"With the three of us it'll be done in no time and we can get back inside, so let's not waste time!" Mrs. Higurashi said cheerfully. The heat seemed to have no effect on her.

Knowing that protesting was futile Kagome made her way to where Sota was already setting up the clothes line, pulled a sheet from the basket and got to work. The heat made Kagome drowsy and keeping her mental guard up became harder, so while she was hanging the sheets to dry she was also involuntarily listening in on her mother making up a grocery list in her head and Sota listing all the popsicle flavors he would like to eat. She tried hard to focus on blocking out her family's thoughts, accidentally also blocking out her surroundings as she mechanically worked in the dry heat. She was so out of it she didn't even register the soft caresses traveling on her back, indicating a certain presence.

"Kagome."

Kagome let out an ear-splitting scream and dropped the sheet she had been holding as she turned around to face Inuyasha who was standing right behind her. Inuyasha flinched back, his ears going flat against his head to protect his hearing from Kagome. "For fuck's sake woman why are you screaming!"

"Don't scare me!" Kagome snapped back. To cover how shaken she was she picked the now grassy sheet from the ground, examining it for stains.

"Kagome? What happened?" Mrs. Higurashi pushed through the white sheets to see what the yelling was about, Sota on her heels. "Oh, good afternoon Inuyasha!"

"Hi", Inuyasha grunted and snatched the sheet from Kagome, gave it a few good shakes and threw it over the clothesline. Kagome yelped in protest.

"Thank you Inuyasha! It'll dry up in no time in this weather!" Mrs. Higurashi thanked cheerfully. She then clapped her hands together. "Looks like we are all done here. Now let's all get back inside and get something cold to drink. You too, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha grunted in affirmation as Sota all but ran past him to the house, eager to get to out of the sun. Mrs. Higurashi picked up the now empty laundry basket and followed her son inside, leaving Inuyasha and Kagome alone. They watched each other in silence, the only sound around them being the snips of Grandpa Higurashi's gardening shears.

"What are you doing here?" Kagome asked, still recovering from the scare Inuyasha had gave her.

"You invited me", Inuyasha answered, instantly on the defensive. He crossed his arms across his chest, drawing Kagome's attention to the well-toned muscle highlighted by the white t-shirt he wore instead of the red hoodie Kagome was used to seeing him in.

Kagome felt even hotter than before and it wasn't the heat.

"Yes, I did", Kagome said, hoping Inuyasha wouldn't catch her ogling. "I'm sorry but no one has ever managed to sneak up on me before though so excuse me for being a bit on edge."

Inuyasha blinked a few times, realization dawning on his face. He didn't go as far as to apologize, but at least he looked somewhat sorry for scaring Kagome and Kagome knew that was all she was going to get from him. She sighed and beckoned Inuyasha to follow her inside. The kitchen was empty when they stepped in, the violent sounds coming from down the hallway and the fan missing from the table telling her that Sota was now holed up in the TV-room and wasn't going to come out any time soon. Kagome suspected her mother had gone to load up the washing machine again.

"Do you want some water? Because I could use some," Kagome asked, going straight for the fridge. Inuyasha nodded and Kagome poured both of them a glass. Inuyasha took the glass from her and was about to take a sip but stopped dead on his tracks. Instead of drinking Kagome lifted up her hair and pressed the glass full of ice water against the column of her neck, sighing as the cool surface made contact with her overheated skin. Inuyasha followed his eyes how a drop of condensation started dripping down on her neck, rolling down to her collar bone and further towards the neckline of her light pink summer dress. Inuyasha swallowed and turned as red as a traffic light. He tried to cover up his redness by gulping down the whole glass in one go, only barely avoiding chocking. Kagome followed his antics in confusion.

_Did he just stare at my b-_

Before Kagome could finish that particular thought Mrs. Higurashi waltzed into the room, shaking both Kagome and Inuyasha out of their heads and handed Kagome a piece of paper that she took with slight confusion before she remembered that she had promised to go to the store the night before.

"Here's a list for you, and do take Inuyasha with you when you go. It's always good to have an extra pair of hands when you're shopping. You do eat steaks Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha nodded and Kagome read through it while sipping her water. "I need to take the car then", she said, sounding defeated.

"Please don't scratch it", Mrs. Higurashi said with a smile and left the kitchen again. Kagome huffed and Inuyasha raised his brow.

"Are you coming with me?" Kagome asked and Inuyasha nodded. "We better go now then."

Kagome quickly washed their glasses and while she climbed upstairs to retrieve her bag Inuyasha moved to wait by the front door. The heat was getting to him too, making him want to stretch out on the lawn and take a nap. He barely reacted when Kagome returned with her things and started to put on her shoes until she remembered something.

"You forgot your shoes here last night."

"Huh?" Inuyasha asked, scratching his nose.

"Your shoes. You left without them yesterday."

Inuyasha slowly turned to look at Kagome with a dumb look on his face, like he had completely forgot that shoes existed. His eyes moved to the ratty pair sitting on the self and realization lighted his face.

"You don't usually wear shoes do you?" Kagome asked, thinking about how he had been barefooted most of the times they had met and how natural to him that had always felt.

"It's easiest", Inuyasha replied. "I can feel the ground when I run and I can climb better." He then let out a very canine sounding huff of displeasure and bended over to slip the sneakers onto his feet. Kagome watched him with a small smile on her lips before asking "ready?".

"Let's get this over with then", Inuyasha grunted, shaking his legs like he was trying to dislodge the shoes. Kagome's smile widened.

They then left the house and made their way to Mrs. Higurashi's car that was waiting at the start of the driveway. It was small, yellow and rusty old thing, and while Mrs. Higurashi insisted the car was just fine the rest of her family had an ongoing bet on how it would break down eventually. Every time Kagome climbed to the driver's seat she half expected the bottom to give out beneath her and she would have to Fred Flintstone her way to the town.

"You drive this?" Inuyasha huffed haughtily before slipping to the passenger's seat. The lack of leg space forced him to bend in a way that he was nearly folded in half. Kagome put her bag into the bag seat and followed Inuyasha to the drivers seat.

"I don't, why do you think I have a bike in the first place?" Kagome replied, placed sunglasses on her nose and started the car. The vehicle coughed itself to life and Kagome carefully maneuvered them to the main road and towards the town.

"The bike would be more comfortable", Inuyasha muttered.

"Stop being a baby", Kagome ordered and rolled down her window, the rushing air covering Inuyasha's muttering.

When they arrived to the parking lot of the smaller one of the town's two grocery stores Inuyasha was out of the car before Kagome had even shut down the engine, nearly bending the door in his haste to get out. His right leg had numbed halfway through and he had complained for the last five minutes about how much faster it would be if he just ran.

"When we get back I'm running", he groaned yet again, trying to shake his limbs back to life.

"Please do", Kagome snapped while trying to ignore the way Inuyasha's shirt was riding up his torso as he stretched his arms above his head to crack his spine. She chose to instead scan the parking lot. "Looks like there aren't too many people here right now."

"Good", Inuyasha said. "Let's be quick." Kagome nodded in agreement and together they entered the cool, brightly lit store. The front of the store was empty when Kagoma grabbed them a shopping basket and pulled out the grocery list her mother had given them. "This is what we need. It's not much so this shouldn't take long." Inuyasha nodded, eyeing the list over Kagome's shoulder. "Let's go then."

They strolled down store gathering the things they needed in swift manner. In an unspoken agreement they deliberately avoided every other patron in the store, even going so far as hiding between the shelves and waiting for people to walk past them. However they soon managed to relax a bit and chat this and that, their tone light up until the moment they got into an argument about canned peaches.

"They are disgusting!" Inuyasha exclamed, looking in horror as Kagome placed two cans into their basket.

"They taste just fine in desserts", Kagome replied calmly and continued forward. Inuyasha shot after her and moved in front of her.

"They are slimy and too sweet. Feels like you're eating sugar coated snails", Inuyasha said heatedly, walking backwards as they moved further down the aisle. Kagome's lips curled upwards.

"You have experiense on those?" She asked mischievously. Inuyasha shot her a glare and was about to shoot something back when Kagome abruptly grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him back behind the shelf.

"What?" Inuyasha snapped. Kagome shushed him with a finger on her lip and they stood there in a tense silence for a few moments before Kagome sighed and relaxed.

"That was a close one", she said and shifted the basket on her arm. Inuyasha raised his brow and Kagome nodded towards something behind his back. He turned to see a very plain looking young man who was paying for his groceries, happily chatting away with the cashier who was packing his things and looking already bored.

"That is Hojo. We were in the same grade in school. He's nice and all but if he starts talking he doesn't stop and, well, he's really boring. So I just avoid him whenever I can", Kagome explained. Inuyasha followed as the man still rattled on when the cashier handed him his things. The young girl was clearly trying to get him out of the store without actually saying the words "leave, please" and Inuyasha smirked. The guy was obviously dense as hell.

"He also has a crush on me so it makes things kind of awkward", Kagome continued nonchalantly. Inuyasha whipped his head around so fast it was a wonder he didn't get a whiplash to stare at Kagome who was now choosing between different brands of instant ramen.

"He has what now?" He asked, maybe more sharply than he had intended, he didn't really know.

"It has been like that since middle school. He kept asking me out and I said yes once in high school, just to see what it would be like. It never went anywhere because like I said, he's nice but boring." Kagome gave Inuyasha a tiny, melancholic smile. "He doesn't have a single bad thought in his brain and that was really nice for a time."

Inuyasha watched Kagome for a few moments, his hard face softening a bit. He then pointed out a cup of instant ramen on the self next to Kagome's hand. "Take that one. It's the best." Kagome let out a small laugh, picked up the suggested item and they went on to finish their list.

When they had all they needed the final challenge was looming before them.

"It won't be so bad", Kagome tried to calm down Inuyasha who seemed to get anxious just by the mere thought of interacting with the cashier.

"Easy for you to fucking say", he growled.

Kagome raised her brow and shot him a cold glare. "Is it now?"

Inuyasha muttered something inaudible before saying "fine. But no chatting."

"No chatting", Kagome agreed and they stepped forward from between the shelves. Both instantly wanted to go back into hiding.

The cashier, a teenage girl with thick glasses, was staring at Inuyasha unashamedly with her mouth open from where she was seated behind the cash register. Inuyasha swore under his breath.

"Forgot the fucking hat", he whispered to no one in particular. Kagome didn't have the heart to tell him that as far as disguises went his cap was about as effective as an umbrella with holes during heavy rain. Instead she nudged him encouragingly and said "we'll be out before she can form a thought, don't worry about it." She then greeted the girl with her brightest smile and a cheerful "hello." The girl didn't reply, just continuing her slack jawed staring, barely noticing Kagome and focusing on Inuyasha who was getting more and more agitated by the second. Kagome's smile didn't falter as she paid quickly and gathered their groceries before ushering Inuyasha out of the store. As they moved further down the parking lot to Mrs. Higurashi's car Kagome could feel the girl staring at them through the store's automated doors, but she pointedly refused to turn around and confirm that she was right.

"It could have been a lot worse", she reminded Inuyasha when they arrived to the car and Inuyasha lifted the bags in, still very much on edge. "The whole town could have been there to gawk at us."

Inuyasha grunted.

"Are you still going to run back?" Kagome asked as she entered the car, hoping that a good run would relax him.

"Yeah, not getting into that thing again", Inuyasha said. Kagome rolled her eyes and cranked open the stiff window to relieve the suffocating heat inside the car. Inuyasha bended so his eyes were at Kagome's level. "Get going, I'll follow." Kagome nodded and twisted the keys in the ignition.

And so they went. Kagome drove her mother's rusty little car, the wind from the open window messing with her hair, while Inuyasha ran beside her clearly showing off his speed. He ran so close to the car that Kagome was actually scared that they would collide and she was convinced that in a case of a collision Inuyasha would absolutely destroy her mother's car. She wasn't ready to explain that to the insurance company.

Despite Kagome's fears they made their way back safely, without Inuyasha bulldozing the car. Kagome climbed out of the car as Inuyasha was pulling the plastic bags from the trunk of the car. Something in the domesticity of the scene made Kagome's heart leap from happiness. "Let's get these inside and I'll start on the dinner", she said said with a smile.

Inuyasha nodded and was about to move before something caught his eye.

"Has that always been there?"

"What now?" Kagome asked, digging around her purse for something and not bothering to look up.

"That motorcycle."

Kagome whipped her head around so fast it was a marvel she didn't get a whiplash. A black, shiny motorcycle was parked on the lawn next to the house, a pink helmet hanging from it's handle. Kagome stared at it for a moment before her face was stretched into a smile that radiated pure joy.

"She's back!" She exclaimed, and just then the front door of the house was slammed open.

Everything happened so fast Inuyasha had hard time keeping up. First he was deafened by the screams of joy and excitement. Then he followed how Kagome nearly tackled a tall woman with a long ponytail to the ground with the force of her hug, both laughing in earnest. When the two women separated Inuyasha managed to get a proper view of the woman's face, recognizing her immediately. She was the girl from those pictures on the wall, now slightly older and much tanner. Sango, he remembered. Kagome's best friend.

"You're back!" Kagome laughed, Inuyasha's attention now back on her again. "Why didn't you tell me you're coming back?"

"I wanted to surprise you! I never get to do that!" Sango laughed. She had a deeper, more mature voice than Kagome, and despite being the same age as Kagome she seemed somehow much older to Inuyasha. It was something in the way she carried herself, like she was prepared for anything.

Kagome shook her head and then grabbed her friend's hands into her own. "You have to tell me everything!" She was nearly shaking from excitement and Inuyasha had to force down a fond smile.

"Oh I will tell you everything", Sango replied, "but only after you." She pointed over Kagome's shoulder, a strange look on her face. Kagome followed her line of sight only to lock eyes with Inuyasha. She let out a small gasp when she realized she had nearly forgotten him in her excitement. She quickly pattered over to him, grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him closer to Sango. Inuyasha wanted to protest but she was determined.

"Sango, I'd like you to meet Inuyasha. Inuyasha, this is my friend Sango", Kagome introduced them. Sango extended her hand for a shake and after a few seconds Inuyasha grabbed it. If Inuyasha were human the grip she had would have hurt him.

"Hi, nice to meet you Inuyasha. I wish I could say I've heard a lot about you, but I haven't", Sango said, that strange look still on her face. Kagome's bright smile faltered. "Not now", she hissed at her. Sango huffed and let go of Inuyasha but never removing her eyes from him.

"I've heard about you", Inuyasha replied, staring right back at Sango. She was beautiful, but in a very different way from Kagome. She had defined features, high cheekbones and straight nose, and she had a martial artist's lithe yet powerful body. Her sharp eyes studied Inuyasha, that strange unreadable look firmly on her face. Inuyasha wanted to squirm.

"I better take these inside", he muttered, lifting up the plastic bags that held their groceries with one finger, and took off towards the house. As he moved further from the women he heard Kagome half-whispering with a pleading tone: "I'm telling everything tonight, but for now no questions, please."

Sango huffed. "Fine. But you better tell me everything, and I mean it."

"I know", Kagome sighed with a defeated tone.

Mrs. Higurashi was waiting in the hallway when Inuyasha came indoors and she greeted him with a warm smile while he kicked off his shoes. "Could you be a dear and take these to the kitchen?" She asked. Without replying Inuyasha sauntered deeper into the house, Mrs. Higurashi at his heel. He lifted the bags to the kitchen counter and stood aside with his arms crossed while Mrs. Higurashi started unloading the contents. He heard Kagome entering with Sango, but for the first time since they had met he didn't want to go for her. He was an outsider again. He was seriously thinking about leaving.

"Did Kagome tell you about Sango before you met?" Mrs. Higurashi asked conversationally, to draw the sullen man from his shell.

"She did", Inuyasha replied shortly, eyeing the back door.

"Did Kagome tell you that she lives here with us when she's not traveling?"

"Yes."

Mrs. Higurashi smiled softly, her back to Inuyasha. "They are like sisters, those two. They laugh, they argue, they can go weeks without talking and then act like no time has passed at all. I know nothing would make Kagome happier than if you and Sango would become friends, but I also know Sango and she has a will of her own." She turned to face Inuyasha and her smile widened. "Although, since you are friends with Kagome I imagine you have some experience with that."

Inuyasha made an involuntary face and Mrs. Higurashi laughed. She then gently patted his shoulder and firmly directed him out of the kitchen. "You better stop hiding before Kagome comes to look for you. I will start with the steaks now, so off you go." She said and with a wave of her hand dismissed him from her kitchen. Inhaling deeply Inuyasha turned and made his way to the tatami room where the rest of the Higurashi family had gathered. The door was open and he silently stepped in, sitting quietly next to Kagome. Kagome, Sango, Sota and Grandpa Higurashi were seated around the low table, the pitiful fan turning this way and that in the corner in an attempt to keep the temperature bearable. Sango had her phone out and she was showing pictures from her travels to Sota and his grandfather who were leaning in and watching intently.

"I cannot believe Kohaku didn't tell me you're coming back. We played together two days ago" Sota muttered. Sango smiled.

"I told him not to because it would have spoiled the surprise." Sota glanced at Kagome and nodded understandingly.

"How long have you been back in Japan?" Grandpa Higurashi asked Sango, squinting at the screen of Sango's phone. He stubbornly insisted that he didn't need glasses.

"Only three days. I stayed at Kohaku's place for a few days to sleep off the jet lag, but he has two roommates and sharing an apartment with three nineteen-year-old guys is really not ideal."

While Sango had the rest of the group's attention Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha. Her eyes were sparkling with joy of having her best friend back home and Inuyasha felt a tuck of jealousy in the bottom of his stomach. The desire to run away grew in him.

"I'm glad you're here, Inuyasha."

"What?" Inuyasha asked dumbly.

"I said", she started quietly with a soft smile on her lips, "that I'm glad you're here."

"Why?" Was the first thing Inuyasha thought to say. He really wanted to shove his whole fist into his mouth.

Kagome let out a little laughter. "Because now all the people who are important to me are under one roof."

Inuyasha blinked a few time and then relaxed, the desire to flee all but forgotten. He had known for a few days now that they had left their awkward first stages, but hearing Kagome say he was important to her made him happier than he remembered being in a good while.

"What are you two whispering about?"

Sango had noticed she no longer had Kagome's full attention and was now leaning over to intently look at the pair. That strange look she had every time she looked at Inuyasha hadn't disappeared, and Inuyasha had to really fight down his basic instinct to start a fight with the young woman. Kagome sitting next to him would make sure he would not win that one.

"Oh nothing", Kagome replied and turned back to Sango, giving one last private smile to Inuyasha. Sango clearly didn't buy the the answer but sat back on her floor pillow without saying a word. She locked her eyes with Inuyasha's, clearly trying to send a message, but Inuyasha had no idea what that was. He wasn't the mind reader in the room.

"Where was this taken?" Sota asked, gesturing towards the phone he was holding and Sango leaned over to see what he was talking about, breaking her eye contact with Inuyasha. Kagome watched them with a content smile on her face while next to her Inuyasha started to fidget. He couldn't get a read on Sango and that was more than unnerving. Every instinct he had was telling him to run away or fight her. However Inuyasha knew that he would probably make Kagome upset if he were to leave now, or if he'd started throwing punched, so his only option was to dutifully sit on his ass and play nice.

Inuyasha heard the steps of small soft paws coming from the hallway and soon Buyo entered the room, making a beeline to Inuyasha. Tha cat climbed onto Inuyasha's lap like she owned it and curled into a ball. It was like Buyo knew Inuyasha was a potential runaway and a trouble maker and by relocating her considerable mass to his lap she made sure he wouldn't be doing anything drastic. Inuyasha huffed and scratched the cat from under her chin and was rewarded with a deep chest purr.

Focusing on the cat proved to be a good distraction to Inuyasha. He was in the middle of trying to get Buyo to chase his fingers when Kagome tapped him gently on the shoulder. He turned to look at her and was met with a particularly shining smile. Inuyasha felt like he was momentarily blinded.

"I'm sorry to distract you from very important cat business but would you like to look over Sango's pictures with me?" She asked enthusiastically. Inuyasha grunted. He wasn't really interested but when Kagome decided that Inuyasha's grunt ment yes and moved closer, he didn't complain. The now familiar yet still unexpected jolts ran through Inuyasha when his arm brushed against Kagome's bare shoulder, and he unconciously leaned a bit closer. He felt the eyes of the rest of the table group boring into him, but Kagome didn't seem to mind them, so Inuyasha stayed where he was. Kagome started scrolling through Sango's pictures, pausing every now and then to ask a question or listen to a story Sango had about some picture or another.

"I'm so jealous", Kagome sighed after Sango had explained how she had nearly dropped her phone into a ravine while taking pictures during her hike to Macchu Picchu.

"Jealous that I nearly dropped my phone?" Sango asked teasingly.

"No, stupid, because you got the chance to go there."

Sango had been traveling across South America and even Inuyasha had to admit the places she had been were impressive. He also learned a lot about the woman, like how she didn't seem to be much of a people person either, enjoying the nature more than the company she had been in. Sango also turned out to be rather fearless, horrifying Kagome and Grandpa Higurashi with her descriptions of bungee jumping over waterfalls, sky gliding from cliffs and parachuting from an airplain.

Inuyasha was surprised how involved he got with Sango's stories because when Kagome's mother came into the room to announce that the dinner was ready he was actually sorry that they had to stop what they were doing and head for the dinner table.

Kagome seemed upset too, but for other reasons.

"Mama I told you I would do the dinner today! You shouldn't have!" She cried out as she shot up. Mrs. Higurashi shook her head and petted her daughter's cheek.

"Don't worry about it dear", she said kindly. "Now, if everyone would move to the table before the food gets cold."

Sango got up gracefully and stretched a bit. "I'm starving, I haven't eaten anything since breakfast." Mrs. Higurashi smiled warmly at the woman and returned to the kitchen with Sango in tow. Sota helped Grandpa Higurashi up and together they left the tatami room, leaving Kagome and Inuyasha last. Inuyasha was still sitting on the floor, Buyo firmly on his lap. Kagome crossed her arms and glanced down to Inuyasha who raised a questioning brow. She obviously had something in her mind. Kagome worried her lower lip with her teeth and without looking directly at Inuyasha, she asked: "What do you think of her?"

"She keeps staring at me, and I don't like it", he replied.

Kagome's face fell a little and Mrs. Higurashi's words rang clearly in Inuyasha's mind.

"Don't take it personally, it's just something she does", Kagome said, aiming for a cheerful voice but somewhat failing.

"Tell her to stop staring at me and I won't", Inuyasha replied, not unkindly. He gathered Buyo to his arms, stood up in one fluid movement and handed the slightly protesting cat to Kagome.

Kagome sighed and hoisted the heavy animal higher on her arms. "If I had any control over what Sango does she wouldn't spend most of her time traveling and doing dangerous things."

Inuyasha huffed and started moving towards the kichen. "Bungee jumping isn't even dangerous."

"Yeah I know it's not, but parachuting is! There are so many things that could go wrong!" Kagome argued. When they stepped in the rest of the Higurashi family and Sango were waiting for them at the already set table.

"It's safe if you know what you're doing", Inuyasha said and slid into the first empty chair he saw. Kagome followed him, sitting down across the table from him and dropping the displeased Buyo to the ground. The cat slipped under the table to sulk.

"What is safe if you know what you're doing?" Sango asked and Inuyasha nearly jumped back up. She was sitting on his immediate right, their elbows nearly touching in the small space around the full table. Inuyasha blinked dumbly at her and she responded with a very toothy smile.

"Parachuting. And it's Inuyasha who thinks that, I think it's dangerous", Kagome replied.

"Stepping out of the shower when the floor is wet is dangerous", Sango stated simply. Mrs. Higurashi had started serving the steaks and Sango took the offered plate with a "thank you", effectively dodging the glare Kagome shot at her. Inuyasha got his plate too and thanked quietly while observing the two women. He got the feeling that Sango's safety was a common subject that the subject herself tried to actively avoid.

When everyone had gotten their plates they all expressed their gratitude for the food and comfortable silence fell over the table, only broken by the sounds of eating and utensils moving across the plate. Bit later Mrs. Higurashi started questioning Sango about her adventures, motherly affection radiating from her when she listened to the young woman while the rest of the table opted to stay silent and listen and enjoy their meal. Inuyasha kept stealing glanced at Kagome, and when she caught him she flashed him a private smile that turned into laughter when Buyo used the opportunity to climb to distracted Inuyasha's lap and steal a bite from his steak.

After the dinner was finished and the table cleared with the help from the entire family (excluding Grandpa who left with Buyo on his heels to catch the evening news) Kagome volunteered to do the dishes so the rest of the group could go and chat together. Without a word Inuyasha grabbed a towel from where it was hanging and started drying out the utensils. Sango stayed behind for a moment and after shooting a heavy glance at both Inuyasha and Kagome she left the room to join the others in the TV room. When she was sure she couldn't hear them Kagome let out a sigh and let her shoulders slump.

"What", Inuyasha asked. He finished drying up the plate he was holding and put it away, then turning fully to face Kagome while tossing the towel over his shoulder and crossing his arms across his chest. For some reason that was extremely attractive to Kagome and she forgot how to form words for a brief moment.

"Uhh..." She started and cleared her throat, "it's just that I forgot how difficult meeting new people is for Sango."

"How so?"

"She's not a people person. That's something you two have in common", Kagome said and smiled. Inuyasha huffed.

"So what it's got to do with me?" He asked, still peeved by the way Sango had looked at him.

"It has nothing to do with you. She's pissed at me for not telling about meeting you", Kagome said, finishing with the last plate and pulling the plug from the sink to drain the water. "It's my fault really that she's taking it out on you."

"It's not", Inuyasha said immediately. "It's none of her business."

Kagome smiled. "Well, she thinks it's her business to know the people I know. She's really protective of me."

Inuyasha scoffed. "She should just mind her own business."

Kagome's smile turned melancholy and for a moment she was lost in thought, but was pulled out by Mrs. Higurashi appearing on the kitchen door.

"I am so sorry to interrupt my dears but it's beginning to get really late and it's a school night. Sota has to go to bed", Mrs. Higurashi said and shook her finger at Kagome playfully. "I know you're going to stay up with Sango most of the night but you have work tomorrow morning, too."

"I'm an adult, Mama, I think I can pick my own bedtime", Kagome muttered, shooting a deadly glare at Inuyasha who did very poor job at hiding his amused smirk.

"Well, whenever Sango is around you both suddenly act like you're fifteen again. And there is nothing wrong with a mother looking after her daughter", Mrs. Higurashi replied and tucked a stray strand behind Kagome's ear. Kagome huffed but didn't fight back. She knew her mother was right, she had work the next day, her shift started early and she knew Sango wouldn't let her go to sleep in a while.

"I'll see Inuyasha out", she said to her mother who nodded. Mrs. Higurashi then turned to Inuyasha and gave him a big warm smile. "Goodnight Inuyasha! I hope you'll be visiting us tomorrow too?"

"If it's okay with Kagome", Inuyasha muttered. Kagome felt a smile tugging on her lips.

"Of course it's okay with me", she said softly and a small blush dusted Inuyasha's cheeks. He pointedly looked away from the two women who shared a small smile.

"I'm getting my shoes", Inuyasha muttered and pushed past the two women. Mrs. Higurashi followed his retreating back and then turned to her daughter with a sparkle in her eye.

"He is a sweet boy underneath all of that grumpiness, isn't he?" She whispered.

"Yeah, he is", Kagome replied softly. She was sure Inuyasha could hear them, and when he soon came back with his shoes in his right hand and a strong blush on his cheeks she was proven right.

"I'm going now", he grunted and went for the back door.

"Wait, I'll walk you out", Kagome said and pattered after him, slipped on her sandals and stepped out. The sun was already setting, but it was light enough that Kagome didn't see the need to turn on the outdoor lights. The heat of the day had finally cooled down, making the air enjoyably warm.

"What a day", Kagome started as they made their way towards the edge of the forest. Inuyasha only made a vague throat noise.

"Are you still bothered about Sango?" Kagome asked quietly. Inuyasha sighed and looked up to the sky.

"It ain't the first time that people have stared at me, and it won't be the last", he replied. "You'd save yourself from lot of upset if you'd just learn that."

Kagome bit down on her lip. "I know Mama said this to you already, but I really want you two to get along. She's my best friend and you are… Well..."

She really didn't know what Inuyasha was to her. Calling him a friend seemed like understating their relationship, and yet calling him anything else at this point was too scary. The way Inuyasha looked at her told Kagome that he was thinking the same way.

"I'll try", Inuyasha said so softly Kagome half assumed he hadn't meant to say it out loud. She smiled at him nonetheless.

"See you tomorrow then?" She asked. At this point she knew he wasn't going to bail on her but still she needed that extra bit of confirmation to be truly at ease.

"Yeah."

Kagome smiled. "Good night, Inuyasha", she said and, out of pure instinct, went in for a hug. Her brain registered what she was doing only when she felt the soft fabric of his shirt pressing against her cheek and his chest move underneath it when he took in a sharp breath of surprise. The blood drained from her face and her body went rigid, her mind trying to understand what her body was doing.

"Uh", she said and slowly lifted her gaze up to Inuyasha. His eyes were like two golden dinner plates as he stared down on Kagome, who still had her arms tightly wrapped around his abdomen. Neither of them moved for a good while, scared that if they did they'd have to acknowledge the way their hearts were beating like crazy.

Slowly Kagome started pulling herself away from Inuyasha, her eyes never leaving his as her arms unraveled from around him. Her fingers gently dragged against his sides, causing him to shiver slightly. When Kagome's touch left Inuyasha he was suddenly filled with an intense feeling of loss that he didn't understand.

"I..." Kagome started but couldn't get any words from her mouth. Her mind was ringing empty and her throat was dry. The way Inuyasha stared at her, without blinking and his whole body rigid left Kagome only with one choice.

She ran.

Without a word she turned on her heel and as fast as she could manage with her oversized slippers she ran inside, banging the glass door closed behind her. Barely stopping to kick off the slippers she sprinted upstairs and threw herself inside her room, only to wish she could run out and back to Inuyasha again. She would take on a hundred awkward Inuyasha's if that meant she could avoid what was coming next.

"Did something happen?"

"No", Kagome replied as she sent one last desperate glance into the hallway before the door closed behind her with a click.

"Something happened. I can tell it."

Sango was sitting cross-legged on Kagome's bed, glaring at her from under her bangs. She had already changed into her Wonder Woman tank top and matching sleep shorts, her hair braided in two, and still she somehow managed to look like she could pull out someone's intestines through their throat. Kagome really admired that quality in her.

"Nothing happened, really", Kagome sighed and collapsed into her office chair. The chair slowly started to spin and Kagome did nothing to stop it. "Do we have to do this now?"

"No better time than present", Sango replied calmly.

"What do you want to know then?"

"Everything you haven't told me."

Kagome turned the chair back around to face Sango properly. Even without listening in on her thoughts she knew Sango was upset that Kagome hadn't told her about Inuyasha when they usually shared everything, good or bad, insignificant or huge.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you", Kagome said quietly, "but so much has happened in just one week and I… I just forgot. And now I don't even know where to start."

Sango's face softened just a bit. "Start from the beginning."

And so Kagome did. She told Sango how she and Inuyasha had met, how he had followed her and how she had confronted him, how she had realized she couldn't hear Inuyasha's thoughts. Kagome left out the part of how Inuyasha's presence affected her because to her it felt too intimate to share even with Sango who knew things about her that no living soul would ever hear about again. Kagome's story then ventured into how they had finally ended their painful silence, and formed something akin to a friendship. She gave a short explanation on what had happened in the library and what followed that, how people had reacted to Inuyasha and to her after it was revealed that the town had a demon living in it. The only time Sango's impassive face moved was when Kagome mentioned the women of the Culture Committee but she didn't say anything, letting Kagome finish the story with description of how Inuyasha's first meeting with the family had gone.

"Mama and Sota love him but Grandpa doesn't trust him yet which I understand but I still think he's being a bit unfair since he doesn't really know him and he really has no right to judge him", Kagome babbled. Her cheeks had gone red from all the talking she had done, and also from the growing uneasiness that welled in her. Sango had barely blinked, her sharp eyes following Kagome the whole time as she nervously twisted on her office chair. Kagome gave herself the permission to listen in on Sango's mind as she went through everything that Kagome had told her, choosing the best way to react to what she had just heard.

 _Pick the nice option, pick the one where you hug me and tell me you support me, pick the option that doesn't involve telling me that I'm stupid and reckless…_ Kagome prayed in her head.

"Do you have any idea of how stupid and reckless you have been?" Sango asked with a perfectly level voice that made Kagome's blood run cold.

_I'm going to die._

"I get that it all sounds lot worse when told like that but really I was never in any danger", Kagome defended. The corner of Sango's eye twitched and Kagome swallowed.

"You went in to a forest to yell at a man who had followed you the whole day and who then turned out to be a demon, and then you went back voluntarily to talk to said demon man when you realized that you can't hear his thoughts which stripped away the one advantage you could have had over him, making the situation even more dangerous to you since you're not used to that. How is that not dangerous in your opinion?" Sango's voice got louder and louder with each word until she was almost yelling. She pushed herself from the bed and started pacing back and forth in front of Kagome who was now gaining back her fighting spirit.

"Inuyasha being a demon doesn't automatically mean he's dangerous!" She snapped at her best friend.

"No, it doesn't, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful around him!" Sango snapped right back and then took a deep breath, locking her eyes with Kagome's defiant ones. "Look, I'm sure Inuyasha means no harm to you, or anyone, but you have to understand that demons can be dangerous. You know I'm right, and if you tell Inuyasha that I said he's potentially dangerous to you he also knows I'm right."

Kagome bit down on her lip. "Inuyasha would never hurt me", she muttered stubbornly.

"How do you know that? What do you actually know about him? I mean, you put a lot of trust into a guy you have known only for a week", Sango insisted.

"I know where he lives", Kagome declared. Sango's brow rose.

"That's it?" She asked and Kagome knew that she had her cornered. She really didn't know much about Inuyasha and what she knew was information that would most likely set Sango even more on edge.

"Look, I trust him, and that should be all you need", Kagome said and crossed her arms. Sango had a real point but Kagome was too stubborn to admit that. Besides, she knew there was something between her and Inuyasha that was special, and she had to get Sango to understand that. It was vital.

Sango sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, now on the eye level with Kagome. She was about to say something but Kagome raised her hand and interrupted her.

"Sango, listen to me", Kagome commanded, her voice firm. "Inuyasha might be a bit rude and short-tempered and stubborn and won't tell me anything about himself, but I know he's lonely and that he needs somebody", Kagome's eyes softened in a way Sango had never before, "somebody who doesn't make him feel like he's alone and different, and I want to be that somebody to him. So I'm going to trust him, no matter what you or Grandpa or anybody thinks."

Sango studied her friend closely and suddenly her face split into a grin. "So is that your way of telling me that you have a crush on him?"

Kagome let out a strange high-pitched sound and nearly fell from her chair. "What?" She squawked.

Sango's grin widened. "I should have realized, it's so obvious! I mean, he's handsome and tall and has nice arms and he -"

"I don't have a crush on him!" Kagome interrupted, nearly shouting. She was now as read as a firetruck.

"You're such a bad liar." Sango was now grinning from ear to ear. The mood in Kagome's small room had shifted into much more relaxed, and while Kagome preferred that to the previous tension she really wished the topic of conversation would be something else.

"He's a friend", Kagome insisted, her stomach twitching uncomfortably when she said that. "We are friends and that's it!"

Sango made a disbelieving sound. "Sure, sure. Now, tell me that you wouldn't mind spending hours and hours gazing into his beautiful golden eyes..."

Kagome picked up a book from the table next to her and hurled it at Sango who dodged it effortlessly while cackling like a maniac.

"You're worse than Mama!" Kagome whined. Sango's cackling grew louder and Kagome hid her face behind her hands.

"How far is your mom in her wedding planning?" Sango asked mischievously.

"She has already picked the foods for the reception", Kagome grumbled from behind her hands. Sango was now laughing in all earnest.

"Is it a buffet?" Sango asked when she managed to catch her breath. Kagome let out a loud whine and Sango collapsed to the bed holding her ribs.

"It's not that funny", Kagome tried.

"Yes it is", Sango wheezed and Kagome rolled her eyes as Sango continued to laugh.

"I'd hate to be the person who has to remind her that it's illegal for humans and demons to marry", Sango said after calming down a bit, still breathing heavily and going lax on the bed.

"You really think my mother would let things like laws stop her", Kagome asked and Sango nodded in agreement. Silence fell between the two women then, neither of them in a hurry to break it and Kagome used the moment to think about the conversation she just had. She felt like her brain was doing cartwheels in her head. Kagome knew that what she felt for Inuyasha was something more than friendship, yet she hadn't let herself think about it in more depth. But now that Sango had given it such a simple label she couldn't ignore what she felt anymore.

 _Crush on him… Am I back in middle school?_ Kagome thought while nibbling on her thumbnail.  _He can be so… uncouth. And I don't really even know him, so maybe it's just physical or something._ An image of the way Inuyasha's shirt had rode up and how his body had felt when she had hugged her made Kagome hide her face in her hands.  _Don't think about that!_

_Telling yourself not to think about something doesn't work either, stupid!_

"Kagome?" Sango's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Sango was again sitting upright, leaning back on her hands and watching Kagome thoughtfully.

"Yes?" Kagome replied quickly, straightening herself in her chair.

"In all seriousness, have you considered that your feelings – and I'm not saying anything more about those – towards Inuyasha might be what they are because you can't hear his thoughts and what that could mean for you two?" Sango asked tentatively. Kagome immediately shook her head.

"No it's not that. First I wanted to meet him again because I didn't hear him for sure but then I found out it's actually pretty annoying", Kagome had to smile at that. "Like I said, really do like being around Inuyasha. It's that simple."

Sango nodded and gave Kagome a warm smile. "I'm happy for you. I'm happy that now I'm not leaving you all alone when I go again."

Kagome returned to Sango's smile. "Thank you. It would really mean a lot to me if you two would get along."

"We'll see about that", Sango replied, still smiling.

"Well, you're already proven yourself to be worse than Grandpa so there is not much more damage that you can do", Kagome sighed.

"Speaking of, how did you manage to convince Grandpa to not call cops on Inuyasha when you told him how you met?"

"Simple. I didn't tell him."

Sango threw her head back and let out an earnest laugh. She then moved over on the bed, patting the free space next to her. "Come on here. It's getting late and if we are going to do a proper sleepover gossip session it's best done under covers with a flashlight."

Kagome laughed and stood up. "Let me wash up and change first though. Then we can talk as much as you want."

Sango nodded and Kagome started collecting the things she would need in the bathroom. Before opening the door Kagome turned back to Sango.

"I'm really happy that you're back", she said softly. Sango scrambled on the bed so she could give Kagome a hug.

"I'm happy to be back", Sango muttered into Kagome's shoulder and Kagome knew she ment it. True, genuine happines radiated from her like warmth from the sun.

"Can I ask you something?" Sango asked quietly.

"Sure", Kagome replied, basking in Sango's warmth, for once oblivious to her thoughts.

"Do you really think you could date a guy who has better hair than you do?"

Kagome roughly pushed Sango back to the bed and slammed the door close behind her, leaving her best friend to laugh madly on her own.

***

"Nononononononono!"

Kagome bolted up from her bed, her blanket flying to the floor followed by her pillow. She grabbed her alarm clock and looked at the handles with disbelief.

"I'm so late!" She moaned. "Why didn't anyone wake me!"

Kagome and Sango had spent most of the night catching up with each other, only deciding that it was probably for the best to go to sleep during the early hours of the morning. Kagome had waken up to brighter than usual morning sun, only to realize she had forgotten to set up her alarm and her work was scheduled to start in fifteen minutes.

Kagome wanted to scream as she pulled on the first cloth she could find, a white dress with flowing sleeves. She haphazardly brushed her hair, picked up her bag and flew out of her room and to downstairs, descended the stairs two steps at a time.

"Anybody still here?" She called out.

"Over here", she heard Grandpa calling from the kitchen. Kagome followed the sound and nearly walked into the door frame when she saw who were sitting in the breakfast table.

Grandpa Higurashi was hiding behind his morning paper, a half eaten breakfast plate sitting in front of him. Across the table from him was no one other than Inuyasha, stuffing his mouth with various food items present on the table while Buyo was trying to swipe food from his plate while sitting on his lap.

"Good morning", Grandpa Higurashi greeted. Inuyasha grunted, his mouth too full to form actual words.

"Grandpa why didn't you wake me? And what are you doing here?" Kagome asked, pointing Inuyasha.

Inuyasha looked at her with a raised brow and swallowed. "I'm eating breakfast."

"Since when have you eaten breakfast here? And since when have you two gotten along?"

Grandpa Higurashi turned the page of his newspaper. "I don't have the faintest idea of what you are talking about."

Kagome blinked a few times and then decided she didn't have time for that. "Is Sango still sleeping?"

"No, she's taking Sota to school this morning", Grandpa replied and turned on a new page. "Your mother left an hour ago."

Kagome felt a headache coming and rubbed her temples. "Did anyone even think to wake me up?"

Grandpa peered over the newspaper to look at Kagome. "Well, no one had a reason to suspect you wouldn't wake up in time."

Kagome leaned her forehead on the door frame and counted to ten. She then started to dig out the phone from her purse. "I have to call Kaede and tell her I'm going to be late."

Inuyasha swallowed the last piece of the bread he had been munching on, picked the cat from his lap and put her to the ground, stood up and marched to Kagome. "I'll take you, come on."

"You don't have to -" Kagome protested weakly, more out of habit than anything else. She was really late and you didn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Let's go", Inuyasha cut in and placed his hand gently on her shoulder, directing her towards the front door.

"Do you have a car?" Grandpa asked, squinting at Inuyasha from where he was sitting.

"Something like that", Inuyasha muttered and swiftly he and Kagome were out the door.

"You're not putting on shoes?" Kagome asked as they stepped on the gravel outside her house.

"I run faster without them", Inuyasha replied and squatted down so Kagome could climb on his back. The awkwardness of yesterday hit Kagome like a sledgehammer, making her blush and hesitate. Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder to look at the young woman who was now fidgeting awkwardly with her hands.

"You said you were in a hurry", Inuyasha said.

"Well… Yeah..." Kagome stammered.

"Hop on then!" Inuyasha commanded impatiently. Kagome let out a long sigh and gingerly placed her hands to his shoulders. When Inuyasha felt her wrapping her arms around his neck he gently yet firmly grabbed her thighs and stood up.

"You good?" He asked, adjusting his hold on her a bit.

"I'm fine. Just… Go fast but not too fast, please", Kagome asked meekly. Inuyasha grinned and without another word he took off. Kagome felt like her embarassment was left behind on the yard.

The second time Kagome rode on Inuyasha's back was very different from their first time. The biggest difference was that this time Kagome was not afraid that Inuyasha would drop her. During their first run the rational part of Kagome's brain had told her that there was no way Inuyasha would do such a thing, but the illogical part had been screaming that he would drop her and she would be nothing but a wet spot on the ground. Now all of Kagome in agreement that being carried by Inuyasha was completely safe, and she was free to enjoy the ride. Kagome had never been like Sango, who loved speed and adrenaline, but even she could appreciate the feeling of freedom that came from the wind pushing back her hair and how the familiar views blurred around her to form an abstract scene of colors and shapes. Kagome leaned her chin on Inuyasha's shoulder and breathed in deeply. Her cheek lightly rubbed against his, familiar tingles dancing on both of their skins. Inuyasha's ears twitched on top of his head.

"You good?" He asked, turning his head slightly so he could peer at Kagome from the corner of his eye.

"Yes", Kagome sighed, her breath tickling him. "I'm good." She felt Inuyasha shudder slightly and pick up his speed. Soon he slided to a halt on the parking lot behind the library and let Kagome drop from his back who immediately ran to the back door, fishing out her keys.

"Thank you so much Inuyasha, you're a life saver!" Kagome thanked while struggling to find the right key.

"I'll be here when you get out", Inuyasha called. Kagome absentmindedly waved at him and after finally finding the right key she slipped inside.

After hastily putting her things away Kagome dashed to the library. Her dress had wrinkled and hair was a mess from the ride on Inuyasha's back and she tried in vain to sort it out with her fingers.

"Well you sure look refreshed this morning."

"Good morning Kaede, I'm so sorry I'm late but I forgot to set my alarm before I fell asleep", Kagome apologized. Kaede was in process of turning on the computers near the front desk and glanced over her shoulder to look at the clock.

"It's fine, I'm sure you have lot more interesting things in your mind than getting to work early", Kaede said suggestively, her visible eye twinkling. Kagome shook her head and went to sort out the small returns pile that Kaede had already gathered.

"It's not Inuyasha why I'm late. Sango got back home yesterday and we spent the night catching up", she said and picked the books from the table, turning to Kaede. "However, Inuyasha did bring me here so I guess you should thank him that I'm not more late."

Kaede smiled warmly and with a mirroring smile Kagome started on her workday.

The morning was silent, almost boring, yet after the several days of excitement Kagome found that boredom was just what she needed. She could process her own thoughts in peace without having to put up the constant effort of blocking out other people's thoughts.

What Sango had said the night before had opened the floodgates and now that Kagome was forced to recognize that she had more than friendly feelings towards Inuyasha. Even if she had been surprised to see him that morning, the scene of him eating breakfast with her grandfather had made her happy, the domesticity of it all like a warm cup of tea on a cold day. Whenever Inuyasha came to her, no matter what her initial feelings had been, Kagome was always happy that he had come.

 _Lot of people make me happy_ , Kagome thought with her face scrunched as she typed mechanically on her computer. _It d_ _oesn't make him that special_.

What made him so special to her then? She had already established that it wasn't that she couldn't hear his thoughts.  _But what else is there?_  Sure they bickered about silly little things in a way Kagome never did with anyone. He was maybe the only person Kagome had ever met who could match her in sheer stubbornness. They were both quick to rile up and neither of them was willing to back down. Kagome's lip twitched.

_I guess we are just a lot alike._

Kagome's stomach growled loudly, reminding her that she hadn't eaten breakfast and she didn't have anything to eat since she hadn't been able to pack herself lunch. She concluded that she needed to run to the cafe across the street to get something small to eat, but she wasn't in the mood to mingle with other people.

_Should I just call in delivery?_

Just then the library door swung open and before Kagome had time to look up from the computer to see who it was the prickling of her skin announced it for her.

"I still have four hours before I can go home", she reminded Inuyasha who was striding towards her, carrying a full plastic bag.

"I know", Inuyasha replied and smacked the bag to the desk in front of Kagome. "You didn't eat anything before we left. Here."

"Not like that was my choice", Kagome muttered, peeked inside the bag and gasped. It was full of small containers with the name of a local restaurant printed on them, all emitting a delicious scent that made her mouth water.

"I didn't know what you like so I took a bit of everything", Inuyasha said, aiming for a indifferent tone but somewhat failing. Kagome looked up to him.

"You didn't need to", she said, slightly abashed. Inuyasha crossed his arms and looked away from her with a huff.

"It's no big deal", he muttered.

"No, it is. I'll pay you back", Kagome promised. Inuyasha head snapped instantly back to her, his eyes narrowing.

"Do you want the food or not?" He snapped. Kagome frowned but still she nodded.

"Then shut it and just take it", he commanded. Kagome did take the bag from the desk and opened it to look over the containers again.

"There is so much food in here I doubt I can eat it all", Kagome said and gave Inuyasha a small smile. "Do you want to share with me?"

"No. It's for you", Inuyasha said simply.

"Food tastes better when you share it with people you like", Kagome insisted. Small blush dusted Inuyasha's cheekbones and he tried to cover himself by clearing his throat loudly.

"Fine, if it's so important to you", he muttered. Kagome's smile widened.

"It is", she replied. She saved her work on the computer and circled the front desk. "Wait here I'm going to tell Kaede I'll be taking my break now", she told Inuyasha while handing him back the plastic bag and she quickly disappeared behind the shelves. She found Kaede from the poetry section, dusting the shelves with a worn rag.

"Do you mind if I take my lunch break now?" Kagome asked.

"I won't", Kaede replied simply without turning towards the younger woman. "Are you going to eat with somebody?"

Kagome restrained herself from rolling her eyes. "Yes, Inuyasha brought me food and we are going to eat it together."

"Well isn't that nice", Kaede commented, still without turning to Kagome. Her voice might have been perfectly level but she was excited that Kagome now had what Kaede referred to herself as "male companion".  _"A girl like her shouldn't be always so alone."_

"I'll see you after then", Kagome promised and with that she was off. Inuyasha dutifully waited by the front desk for Kagome to return, the plastic bag full of food hanging from his arm.

"Come on, we can eat in the backroom", Kagome signed Inuyasha to follow him but he stopped him quickly.

"I have a better idea", he said and started moving towards the front door. Kagome followed him curiously and soon they were standing at the front of the library. Inuyasha kneeled down once again and Kagome climbed to his back without a word.

"Are we going somewhere?" She asked when Inuyasha straightened out.

"Sort of", Inuyasha replied and then, without further warning, he launched himself straight up in the air. Kagome had barely time to open her mouth to scream before Inuyasha landed softly to the roof of the library and let Kagome scamper off from his back. She was breathing heavily and holding her chest, trying to get her heartbeat to even out.

"Don't ever do that again", she managed to get out. Inuyasha snickered at her and sat himself crosslegged on the roof, already digging through the contents of the plastic bag. Kagome huffed and carefully kneeled down, arranging her dress around her before she yanked a cup of miso soup from Inuyasha's hand.

"It wasn't funny", Kagome muttered and still snickering Inuyasha handed her a pair of chopsticks. A soft wind pushed their hair, making the heat of the day slightly more bearable. While sipping her soup Kagome had to admit that eating on the roof had been a nice idea. The little town she had lived all of her life looked brand new when viewed from that angle.

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha who was messily slurping noodles, content look in his eyes. Her eyes softened and warmth spread inside of her. He probably wasn't even realizing how life changing things like just sharing a lunch with somebody were to her.

"Thank you Inuyasha", she said softly. Inuyasha just shrugged and continued eating and Kagome did the same.

After the containers were emptied Inuyasha carried Kagome from the roof. She managed to not scream as they came down and landed without a sound to the pavement.

"Can I ask you something?" Kagome asked when they walked towards the entrance together. Inuyasha grunted in agreement.

"What were you doing before you decided to bring me food?"

"I was on the roof", Inuyasha replied simply. Kagome looked at him with confusion.

"You were… Just on the roof? Doing nothing?" She asked.

"Yeah", came the short reply.

"And what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going back to the roof", Inuyasha said and yanked the door open for Kagome. She let out a small laugh.

"Have fun then. See you in four hours!"

Inuyasha nodded and with an impressive bounce he disappeared from Kagome's sight. She shook her head with a smile on her face and went back to work, eagerly waiting for her shift to end.

Four hours later on the dot Inuyasha descended from the roof to look for Kagome and found her helping a customer. She had the sweetest smile on her face and the way she spoke to the woman in front of her held no trace of the spitfire Inuyasha had learn to know, and it was intriguing him.

"Have a nice day!" Kagome smiled and the woman walked away, only turning to stare at Inuyasha with her eyes mimicking those of an owl but neither Inuyasha or Kagome cared about her.

"Ready?" Inuyasha asked.

"Very. I'll just go and get my things."

Inuyasha nodded and watched how Kagome disappeared inside the backroom. He had spent the whole day on that roof, just listening the sounds of the town. When he had really stretched his hearing he had been able to hear Kagome talking and walking around, and if he stretched even further he was able to hear her heart beat, her breathing. He had been content with just listening her and nothing else, letting all other voices disappear from around him.

"Why do you look like that?"

Kagome's voice brought Inuyasha back from his thoughts and he frowned at her.

"Look like what?" He asked, taking her bag in a reflex-like motion and moving towards the front door.

"Like you're thinking about something nice", Kagome replied. Inuyasha held the door open for her as they stepped out. The area around library seemed like it was completely deserted, everyone seeking shelter from the heat of the afternoon sun.

"Well I wasn't", Inuyasha replied curtly and kneeled down so Kagome could climb on. Kagome looked at him oddly but didn't push the subject further. Instead she obediently climbed to Inuyasha's back and he took off. Since neither of them was in a hurry Inuyasha chose to run on a much less hurried pace.

"Can I ask something?" Kagome started conversationally, their speed making it possible for her to talk without needing to yell over the wind.

"Depends. What do you wanna ask?" Inuyasha replied.

"What do you do when you're not being my private taxi?" Kagome had wanted to ask that for a while, mostly because she just couldn't imagine Inuyasha doing much anything during his down time.

"I've been renovating, trying to make the house a bit more comfortable to live in", Inuyasha said and would have shrugged if Kagome hadn't been hanging onto his shoulders. Kagomes brows drew together.

"I knew you said you're renovating but I really can't believe you're actually living in the forest", she said. "How are you going to get electricity there?"

"With a generator. I did all the wiring on the house already I just actually need to buy the damn thing."

Kagome's brows lifted. "You already did all of the wiring? Did you learn it all from just reading a book once?"

"I learn fast", Inuyasha said nonchalantly.

"That is amazing", Kagome said with wonder in her voice, making Inuyasha flush. They ran for a few minutes without talking before Kagome spoke again.

"Can I come visit when you are finished with your house?" Kagome asked bit shyly.

"I thought it was your house", Inuyasha smirked and Kagome gave him a small kick to the side of his leg. "No but really, what was that about?"

Kagome sighed. "I found the place when I was around nine, and when I asked about around no one had ever heard of there being a house in the forest, and since no one knew about it but me I decided it was mine. I never went inside though", she added quickly, afraid Inuyasha would take offense. Inuyasha frowned.

"Why not?" He asked.

Kagome squirmed uncomfortably, trying in vain to create space between them.

"I thought it would be disrespectful to the people who had lived there… I guess that means you", she muttered and blushed. Inuyasha smiled from the corner of his lips.

"I won't mind", he said, making Kagome's blush even deeper.

"I'm glad", she whispered and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. Inuyasha's smile widened.

They were nearing Kagome's house, the white building clearly visible against the dark backdrop of the looming forest. Inuyasha squinted his eyes to look at something on the front yard.

"Why is there a black car in front of the house?" He asked.

"Maybe Mama finally got a new car?" Kagome suggested. Inuyasha started to slow down when they turned from the main road to the driveway, coming to a halt right next to the shiny and sleek black Toyota with darkened windows that for sure wasn't Kagome's mother's.

"Is somebody visiting?" Kagome wondered while sliding down from Inuyasha's back and taking her bag from him. She tried to figure out if she knew anyone with that type of car but came blank.

Inuyasha sniffed the air. "Yeah there is someone ins-" His sentence was cut as he went completely still. His eyes widened and his breath grew shallow. An uncertain feeling coming from him brushed the edges of Kagome's mind, making her skin break into goosebumps.

"Inuyasha?" She asked, slightly agitated. "What is going on?"

"How", Inuyasha muttered to himself, seemingly ignoring Kagome. "How is he here?"

"Who is here? Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled as Inuyasha sprinted to the door so fast her eyes had hard time realizing what hat happened and disappeared inside. Kagome ran after him, the unsure feeling growing bigger and more consuming as she approached the house. Without bothering to remove her shoes she tossed her bag to the ground and rant towards the voices coming from the tatami room. She stopped in front of the open door just in time to witness Inuyasha grabbing a man Kagome had never seen in her life and slamming him against the wall with a loud thud. Sango who was also in the room ran to Kagome.

"What is going on?" She asked frantically.

"I really wish I would know", Kagome replied, her voice barely a whisper as she focused on the stranger in Inuyasha's grasp. He was tall, maybe even slightly taller than Inuyasha, with charming handsome face and intelligent eyes lined with thick black lashes. His midnight black hair was tied to a small tail on his neck, there were several golden earrings hanging from his ears and for some reason he was wearing only one leather glove. Despite being held against the wall by a clearly agitated Inuyasha, his claws only inches away from his throat, the man still managed to give him a small smile.

"I really wish I could say it's nice to see you again, but given the circumstances I don't think that'd be appropriate", the man said with a pleasant voice. Inuyasha growled.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He asked, his voice low yet everyone in the room could hear it clear as a bell.

The stranger sighed. "You know why I'm here. He want's you to come back."

Inuyasha strengthened his hold on him. "No."

"Inuyasha! Stop!" Kagome cried out. Inuyasha's eyes flashed to where Kagome was standing with Sango and a feeling just as clear as a physical touch washed over Kagome, clenching her heart.

Inuyasha was afraid. This man, for some reason, made him afraid.

"Inuyasha..." She whispered. "Please… Please tell me what is going on?"

Inuyasha's hold on the stranger weakened and he used the opportunity to gently pushed Inuyasha's hand away who he let it limply fall to his side. The stranger then placed a hand to Inuyasha's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze before walking past him and coming to stand in front of Kagome.

"Miss Higurashi I assume?" The man said and bowed to Kagome. "Miroku Oshiro, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha with hesitation but he was still facing the wall, his face hidden behing his long hair so Kagome just bowed back. "The pleasure is all mine", she replied stiffly.

The man called Miroku let out a small laugh. "I imagine this all a bit confusing to you - "

"A bit", Kagome agreed.

" - and I'm sorry for all the inconvenience I have caused to you and the lovely Miss Saito here - "

"He wouldn't leave so I had to let him in", Sango huffed and crossed her arms.

" - but I'm only here to meet with Inuyasha", Miroku said.

Inuyasha turned away from the wall and came to stand in front of Miroku, half shielding Kagome behind him. "How did you find out where I am?" He asked.

"Ah", Miroku went and pulled his phone from his pocket. "Well you did spend a full year without being found so that's a fair question. Here." He handed the phone to Inuyasha who took it from him, Kagome and Sango peeking behind him to the screen.

The picture was slightly blurred, like it was taken in a hurry, but the subjects were clear as day. Even if they were pictured from behind Inuyasha and Kagome were easily recognizable, Inuyasha from his long silver hair and triangle ears and Kagome from the pink dress she had worn the previous day.

"What the fuck?" Inuyasha asked and Miroku took his phone back.

"This picture was uploaded yesterday by a girl who had her high school listed on her profile so it was just a matter of finding out where the school is and then driving up here. I asked around a bit and some helpful locals directed me here. There are not many dog-eared demons around, you know", Miroku supplied.

Kagome instantly remembered the young cashier who had stared at Inuyasha in the grocery store and her anger flared up. "She took a picture of us and put it online?" She practically hissed.

"The fucking hat", Inuyasha muttered at the same time and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "I forgot the fucking hat."

"Social media, what a wonderful invention", Miroku sighed dramatically.

"Do me a favor and shut the fuck up for a minute", Inuyasha said, still reeling. Miroku snapped his mouth shut.

" _I've never seen Inuyasha behave like this, the Inuyasha I know would have already punched a hole through the wall."_

Kagome knew she was being intrusive but desperate moments called for desperate solutions. She needed to know what was going on and the only one in the room available for that information was Miroku. What she encountered was vastly different from the rather jovial man he presented himself as. His mind was sharp and calculating, and the way he observed his surroundings and gathered information was almost fascinating to Kagome. She would have gotten distracted from her original goal if one thought from Miroku hadn't reached her.

" _Just by being here you're putting these people in danger, so do the sensible thing for once in your life."_

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, her eyes going wide. Miroku looked at her with confusion.

"I'm sorry, I didn't say anything", he said but Kagome didn't care.

"How is Inuyasha putting us in danger just by being here?" She demanded, pushing closer to Miroku who was now completely lost.

"I don't..." He started but Kagome didn't let him finish.

"Is Inuyasha in danger? Is that it? He's in danger and by being around us we are too?" Kagome's voice was rising the more upset she got.

"Kagome stop", Inuyasha said and grabbed Kagome's arm, turning her around to face him.

"You're running away from something", Kagome said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "You're running away and now you got found."

It started to make sense, on some level, why Inuyasha was so private. It didn't make Kagome feel any better though.

"I'm not running", Inuyasha said sternly, "Not anymore. That shit ends here."

"So does that mean you're coming with me?" Miroku inserted, his voice hopeful. " _Make this easy for us all."_

"Fuck no", Inuyasha scoffed. "Tell that fuck that I'm done taking orders from him and tell him to stay the fuck away from me and my life."

Miroku let out a deep sigh. "I have direct orders to either bring you to him or tell him where to find you so he can come to see you in person, and we both know how the latter one will end. So please just come with me." The desperation in his voice was real.

"Over my dead fucking body", Inuyasha growled, unconciously tightening his hold on Kagome.

"I'm afraid it won't be your dead body he'll be stepping over."

Both of the men looked at the woman right next to Inuyasha and the way Inuyasha looked at her was not missed.

" _Who is she really?"_  Miroku though as he looked Kagome with growing interest.  _"I've never even seen Inuyasha talk to a woman, much less act like this around one."_

A heavy silence filled the room before Sango opened her mouth.

"Are we really in danger somehow?" She asked, uncharacteristically calm.

"Yes", Miroku said and turned to look at her. There was something in the way that he looked at Sango would have made Kagome curious under any other circumstances, but right now she had more pressing matters to focus on now than how some man was looking at Sango.

"Why?" Sango asked and crossed her arms. "There's a whole lot of yelling right now and not a lot of answers and I'm honestly going to lose it if one of you won't start explaining what is going on -"

"I'm coming", Inuyasha interrupted Sango and Miroku's whole body seemed to relax at that moment.

"Where are you going?" Kagome asked but Inuyasha ignored her.

"Does he know about her?" Inuyasha he instead asked Miroku.

"No, I only told him that I found you and nothing else", Miroku said. Inuyasha nodded.

"I'll come with you on one condition then."

"And what would that be?"

"You won't tell him anything about Kagome, or her family."

Kagome felt like somone threw a bucket of cold water on her.  _What…_

"You know that if he asks I have to tell him, but if he doesn't I won't", Miroku said. He was sincere on his promise. Inuyasha nodded.

"Then let's go."

Before Inuyasha managed to move a muscle Sango slammed the sliding door shut and physically blocked the way out of the room with her body.

"No one goes anywhere before I get some fucking answers", she roared. Both Inuyasha and Miroku instinctively covered back but Kagome seemed unaffected.

"He was sent here to find Inuyasha because there is someone who wants to find him and that someone posesses a danger to us so Inuyasha is going with Miroku to protect us", Kagome said, her voice monotone, her bangs covering her eyes. Inuyasha winced.

"How noble of you", Sango said and crossed her arms. "We still don't know why, though."

"Because he used to work for this someone and he's not happy that he left without his permission", Kagome supplied. Miroku turned to look at Inuyasha, questioning.

"Did you tell her?" He asked. Inuyasha shook his head.

"I think she's getting it from you", he replied. Miroku's eyes widened.

"How… How's that possible?" He asked.

"I can hear your thoughts", Kagome said bluntly. Miroku's eyes looked like they were going to fall out of their sockets.

"What?" He asked and looked at Inuyasha for confirmation. The man nodded.

"It's true", he said.

"How?" Miroku asked, completely baffled.

"We're getting off topic here again", Sango cut in. "So what, Kagome can read all of our thoughts expect Inuyasha's, big deal. What I want to know now is why did Inuyasha leave and why is that such a big deal."

"Sango", Kagome said with a small voice. "If Inuyasha doesn't want to tell us he doesn't have to."

"I think he owes us an explanation at least", Sango insisted.

"He owes us nothing", Kagome said firmly, fighting tears now. "He owes us absolutely nothing and if he doesn't trust us enough to tell us that's on him." Her voice cracked and a solitary tear rolled down her cheek. The whole room tensed. Inuyasha gently grabbed Kagome so she was facing him fully, trying to get her to look at him when she looked everywhere else but him.

"What is this?" He asked, his voice soft. Miroku's jaw fell.

"You know everything about me, but you still won't trust me", Kagome sniffed. She didn't want to cry but everything was too overwhelming to her.

"You've met my family, you've met my best friend, you're in my house... I feel like you know everything about me", she said, "and yet, I know nothing about you. And whenever I ask anything you give the most vague answers or changed the subject." The tears were now flowing freely. "I never pressed you to answer because I didn't want to chase you away. And then something like this happens and you're going away anyway."

"I've never had the luxury of trusting people", Inuyasha said quietly. He knew that only way to get to Kagome was being direct. "I've lived too long surrounded by people who either want to kill me or are planning on it so I can't trust."

Kagome's sniffing stopped instantly and her teary eyes went as wide as saucers as she turned to look at Inuyasha. "Want to kill you?" She repeated slowly.

"That's how it's always been", Inuyasha shrugged, pleased that she was now finally looking at him. "For the longest time the person who sent Miroku was the only one who could protect me, but that protection came with much too high of a price so I left, and I've managed just fine so far. I just wanted to have a life of my own, so I came here." He smiled bitterly. "Didn't last very long though."

"That was probably the most information I've gotten from you since you told me your name", Kagome sniffed and wiped her face with her hand. Inuyasha let out a breath that could have been a laugh.

"I know that you don't owe me anything, I really do", Kagome continued, now more calm. "Just because I shared my whole life story with you doesn't mean you have to return to the favor. I guess I'm just upset because I want you to be part of my life so badly and I am afraid you don't want me in yours."

You could have heard a needle drop in the silence that followed Kagome's words. Sango and Miroku shared a glance with each other, both knowing that the scene that was unfolding before them was too intimate, too raw for them to witness. They left the room together, as quietly as they could but it really wasn't needed. Neither Kagome or Inuyasha remembered their existence.

"I want to be in your life", Inuyasha whispered. "I really do. But I can't if that puts you in danger."

Kagome looked at him, her face reflecting cautious optimism.

"I owe you nothing, like you said. I'm here because I wanna be." Inuyasha's face was serious and his gaze intent, like he could force Kagome to understand him with just his eyes alone. "And I promise you that I will tell you everything when I get back."

Inuyasha then did something Kagome least expected of him: he hugged her. With one big hand on Kagome's head and one on her back he pressed her teary face against his soft shirt. Kagome took a deep breath in, smelling his natural scent that reminded her of the forest.

"And I promise, I'm coming back, no matter what happens", he muttered into her hair. Kagome knew that every word he said was true and she felt herself calm instantly.

For a moment they stood there, Kagome pressed against Inuyasha's solid form, before she gently started to push away from him to look him in the eye.

"Who said you're going without me?" Kagome asked softly.

Inuyasha had no idea how to react to that. "Uhh..."

"You invited me to your life remember, and trust me now I'm going to abuse that invitation", she gave him a brilliant smile that pulled Inuyasha out of his stupor.

"No", he said firmly. "No that's way too dangerous!"

"Stepping out of the shower when the floor is wet is dangerous", Kagome replied. Inuyasha let out a groan and his arms fall away from around her.

"Don't try to pull that shit on me, this is actually dangerous!"

"And I don't care!" With every breath Kagome felt the fire inside her igniting again.

"You're not coming!" Inuyasha was yelling now.

"Just try and stop me!" Kagome yelled back and with surprising speed she was was at the door, pushing it open and running into the hallway. Inuyasha swore loudly and chased after her.

"You're not coming!" He yelled.

"Yes I am!" She yelled back.

"Where is Kagome going?" Sango asked as she and Miroku came from the TV room, obviously drawn out by their noise.

"I'm going with Inuyasha and Miroku", Kagome declared as she speeded past them to the front door. "Come on then, let's not waste any time!"

Sango and Miroku blinked at each other in confusion when Inuyasha raced past them.

"You are NOT coming!" He howled and followed Kagome outside, slamming the door behind them, leaving an almost deafening silence behind them. Sango and Miroku were left to stand and stare at the spot where the two had been just seconds ago.

"Mr. Oshiro?" Sango started.

"Yes?" Miroku replied.

"If it is all the same to you I'd like to come with you too. I think someone needs to look after Kagome."

Miroku sighed. "There is room in the car so be my quest." he said and both of them moved to put on their shoes.

"I guess this is finally the time to ask where we are going?" Sango asked as he pushed the door open, revealing Kagome and Inuyasha in the middle of a heated screaming match on the front lawn of the house.

"Tokyo, Miss Saito", Miroku replied, a small smile on his lips. "We're going to Tokyo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how I said I had a hard time writing the last chapter? Well I'm leaving the country tomorrow and I won't be coming back in several weeks, so I wanted to publish this before I go but I might have had a bit of a writers block and a teeny tiny case of playing video games until 3 am and not writing a word and then I had to push out 15000 words in two and a half weeks. So yeah. This chapter was nothing like I planned it to be but I actually like it better than what I originally had in mind so that's fine. I'm super excited to write both Sango and Miroku who are extremely fun characters and I have lot's of things planned for them. This is where the actual plot starts and like I've said this fic's premise and some plot points are inspired by the TV show True Blood and that starts to show more in the chapters to come so if you have seen the show you might be able to guess what is coming. Maybe.
> 
> So anyway *youtuber voice* like, comment and subscribe and I see you guys next time!
> 
> \- Green


	5. When in Tokyo, part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. Long time no see.
> 
> For starters I'm really sorry for the long wait. I never thought it would take me over two and a half months to update but here I am again. This chapter is part 1. of the two part chapter. The next part will be posted sooner than this one was and like usual I'll be explaining things more in the end notes. Until then, please enjoy!
> 
> \- Green
> 
> Content warnings: violence  
> Edited 28.9.2018 because I have a terrible name memory and I mixed up the names of the Thunder Brothers

" - irresponsible, foolish, dangerous - "

"Grandpa – "

" - stupid, reckless, idiotic - "

Kagome breathed in deep through her nose and closed her eyes. They had been driving for an hour now, and for the last fifteen minutes Kagome had been on the phone with her very indignant grandfather. After the group had hastily entered Miroku's car and drove off from the Higurashi house Kagome had relized she had forgotten to tell her family they had left, so she had sent a quick message to her mother explaining where she and Sango had went and that they would be gone for the rest of the evening and maybe even for the night. Mrs. Higurashi's reply was a simple wish for Kagome and Sango to be careful. Kagome was grateful that she didn't ask for more details and that her mother was a trusting person.

Kagome had forgotten her grandfather was not.

"Of all the stupid things you two could do running off with strangers is by far the stupidest!" The old man raved to the receiver. After Mrs. Higurashi had gotten home from work and informed him where Kagome and Sango had went he had instantly dialed his granddaughter's number just to list off various adjectives that described what he thought the young women were.

Kagome was sure he wasn't actually upset that they had left with Inuyasha and Miroku but because he hadn't realized they had left in the first place before someone told him.

"You know what, Grandpa?" Kagome said loudly. "Sango wants to speak with you so I'm giving the phone to her now!"

"No I don't!" Sango protested loudly.

"Yes you do", Kagome said and pushed the phone to Sango who then tried to push it back to Kagome, turning the situation into a brief game of backseat hot potato before Sango relented and placed the phone on her ear while trying to kill Kagome with her stare.

Kagome exhaled deeply when she heard the muffled tirade of her grandfather being directed at Sango and leaned her forehead against the window, closing her eyes. She felt Inuyasha watching her from his place on the front seat but as he didn't say anything she chose to ignore him for now. In fact, after their argument wheter or not Kagome should come to Tokyo with him he hadn't spoken a word. The fear coming from him in steady waves had only intensified when Kagome had climbed inside the car, refusing to step out no matter how much Inuyasha had howled at her. Kagome knew that nothing she could say or do would calm him down so she let him be even though every fibre of her body told her to tell him she would be just fine.

After all she didn't know if that was the case.

"Oh no we are going through a tunnel the connection is breaking oh no - " Sango hung up the phone and tossed it on the seat next to Kagome. Kagome smiled from the corner of her mouth.

"Not funny", Sango grunted and crossed her arms, her posture rigid.

"Wasn't ment to be", Kagome replied, still keeping her eyes closed. She felt an upcoming headache and tried to relax as best she could but the tense silence and the anxious thoughts flying around the car made it impossible.

"Sounds like your grandfather is a piece of work", Miroku said cheerfully from the driver's seat after a few moments.

"He is", Kagome replied simply, making Miroku smile. He acted like the atmosphere in the car wasn't affecting him but Kagome could hear his mind working mile a minute on various possible outcomes of their trip and none of them were too cheerful.

 _He's just as nervous as Sango or Inuyasha, just a better actor,_ Kagome thought.

Miroku peered at Kagome through the rear view mirror, his brow drawn in a thoughtful line.

"Can I ask you a few questions regarding your ability, Miss Higurashi? I do understand if you don't want to answer but it is a rare thing for me to be surprised and you have managed to do just that", Miroku asked conversationially. Kagome squeezed her eyes close even tighter before opening them. She saw both Inuyasha and Sango shift slightly on their seats.

"Go ahead."

"When did you realize you could hear people's thoughts?" Miroku started.

"I've always heard them but it wasn't before I got older that I realized it's not something that other people do", Kagome replied without turning, opting to look out from the car's tinted window instead.

"Can you control it?" Miroku asked, genuine curiosity shining through into his voice.

"Not really. I can just kind of ignore the thoughts flying around but it takes energy and they never go really away anyway."

"Never a silent moment. That must be though", Miroku mused and Kagome smiled sadly to herself.

"Yes, it is."

The melancholy in her voice was audible to everyone in the car. Inuyasha followed Kagome from the corner of his eye.

"Have you ever used it to communicate with others?" Miroku asked, quick to pull Kagome out of her thoughts.

"No, I mean, I can't send my thoughts to other people or anything. It's not telepathy, it's just me receiving thoughts. Like radio receives music but you can't send music back to the radio station", Kagome explained. Miroku looked thoughtful.

"Well, maybe you could use it in a way that the person who you want to talk with thinks about what they want to say and you reply in some other method. That would come in handy in keeping secrets while you're in company."

"I just think that would be really rude. If you have secrets you don't discuss them while in company, that's just manners", Kagome said. Miroku's lip twitched.

" _I'm beginning to understand what Inuyasha sees in her."_

Kagome's ears started burning and she scolded herself for letting her focus slip.

"I assume you haven't told many people about your talent?" Miroku asked while pushing the gear stick and upping their speed.

"It's not a necessarily a secret, it's more the case of people not believing me and thinking I'm a liar or just crazy", Kagome replied quickly' trying to cover her embarassment. "They think I'm crazy anyway but I don't want to be known as a liar."

Miroku let out a small laugh. "But your family believes you, right?"

"Yes", Kagome said and glanced at Sango and Inuyasha. "They are the only ones who really matter."

"Hmm", Miroku hummed in agreement and the car went silent for a while again, making Kagome uncomfortable. In complete silence blocking out thoughts became harder, as if the thoughts themselves were louder. She found herself wishing someone would turn on the radio.

Kagome wasn't the only one bothered by the silence. Sango was shuffling uncomfortably on her seat, twisting her seat belt around in her hands before settling down.

"How about you, Mr. Oshiro?" She asked. Miroku raised a bow and looked at Sango through the mirror.

"What about me, Miss Saito?"

"How about you tell us a bit about yourself?" Sango said, making direct eye contact with Miroku through the review mirror. Her tone was casual but the demand behind the words was clear. Miroku flashed her a charming smile.

"I don't think I'm very interesting, to be honest. Just an errand boy. I'd be much more interested in learning more about you, Miss Saito. I bet you are far more fascinating than I'll ever be."

"Do you always try to charm your way out of things?" Sango asked.

"Yes, and usually it works. Is it working now?"

Sango stared at the smiling Miroku blankly. The man's smile only widened.

"An errand boy, huh? I assume that means that you do whatever the person you're working for asks you to do?" Sango asked, blatantly ignoring Miroku.

"I couldn't have put it better myself. Yes, I do whatever my employer wants me to do, including dragging old friends from hiding", he said and smirked at Inuyasha. Inuyasha simply grunted.

"Old friends?" Sango snorted, "I didn't know old friends greet by trying to maim each other."

"Oh no, we do! I have known Inuyasha since I was twelve and that's just how it's always been", Miroku replied cheerfully. "This man here knows everything about me!" Miroku continued and slapped his hand to Inuyasha's shoulder with an audible smack. Inuyasha shot him a deadly glare but Miroku didn't seem to be bothered.

"I really wish I didn't", he growled and shook Miroku's hand from his shoulder. The man just laughed, and Sango seemed to relax a bit too, snickering at the two men.

Unable to share their fun Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha who was determinedly showing her his back. If he had known Miroku for that long and if they really were as close as Miroku claimed then it would make sense for Miroku to know things about Inuyasha he had never told Kagome. An uncomfortable tug in her stomach reminded her just how badly she wanted to know more and a sly voice in her head reminded her that it would be so easy to just open up her mind a bit and listen in on what Miroku was thinking. Kagome shook her head and banished the thought instantly.

 _He tells me when he chooses to do so,_ she reminded herself.  _If he chooses to. I have no right to listen in on anyone's thoughts just because I'm curious._

"So", Sango started and leaned forward on her seat to better see Miroku. She had a michevious gleam in her eyes. "If Inuyasha knows you so well he probably also knows why you're wearing a glove during a heatwave."

The mood in the car dropped like temperature in a walk-in freezer.

Both Miroku and Inuyasha visibly tensed and Kagome could hear the sound of leather rubbing against leather when Miroku gripped the steering wheel tighter with his gloved hand. Sango's face fell instantly.

"I'm sorry", she breathed out, "I didn't - "

"No, of course you didn't", Miroku cut in. He was aiming for a reassuring voice but the lines around his mouth ruined the attempt. Sango curled in on herself slightly and Miroku grimaced. Inuyasha's ears stood up, unmoving and fixed on Miroku.

"I have… um… I have an injury", Miroku started, struggling to find words. Kagome suspected that wasn't a common occurrence. "I have an injury on my hand and it's – it's not very nice to look at", he said and turned his head to give Sango a halfhearted smile, "I know that wearing just one glove looks silly but I'm willing to brave it if it stops people from commenting on how ugly my hand is."

Sango nodded and then asked with an unsure voice "can I ask what happened?"

Miroku sighed. "You can ask but forgive me if I don't give you an answer. It is a memory I don't like repeating."

Kagome followed how Sango's whole body tensed, only to then relax completely as she slumped against her seat.

"I get it", she said, the understanding clear on her voice, "I'm sorry that I brought it up."

Miroku shook his head, the tenseness of his shoulders easing gradually. "You didn't know so there is nothing to feel sorry for."

Sango's brows drew together. "Can you just accept my apology and not make excuses for me?"

Miroku let out a small laugh and nodded. "Fine then, apology accepted."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Sango turned back to the window, not being able to hide her smile completely. Kagome felt a smile tug on her own lips but she decided that a moving car was not the place to tease her friend so she let it pass.

The rest of the drive was mostly spent in silence, only broken by either Kagome, Sango or Miroku to point something out while they were driving past it. Inuyasha continued his sulking, the feeling of fear still coming from him in strong, steady waves. He had barely moved on his seat, his arms were crossed tightly against his chest and his clawed fingers were gripping his biceps so hard his knuckles were turning white. His eyes were looking out of the passenger side window, but still Kagome knew he was aware of every breath and every move of muscle that happened inside the car.

The sky outside was getting darker by the moment, and the sun was nearly set when Miroku cleared his throat. "We'll be arriving to the metropolitan area shortly. If the traffic let's us we'll be where we need to be in less than forty five minutes."

"What exactly is the place we need to be in?" Sango asked with edge on her voice. "Or is it a secret?"

Miroku sighed. "It technically is a secret but I guess you two are now part of it."

"The fuck they are", Inuyasha growled suddenly. He turned to glare at Miroku, his eyes flaming before he grabbed Miroku by the collar and shook him. This caused Miroku to rapidly twist the steering wheel, making Kagome and Sango lurch onto their sides and collapse on top of each other. Inuyasha ignored all of this and pressed his face close to Miroku's and growled loudly. The hair on Kagome's arms stood up.

"You keep her away from this", he said, his voice so low Kagome had to strain her hearing to catch his words. Miroku struggled to keep the car on the right lane but Inuyasha didn't seem to care or notice.

"Like you kept her out of this car? Let go of me or we will crash, you idiot!" Miroku snapped. Inuyasha let go of him like he had been burned and sank back to his seat while Miroku straightened the car. Kagome could feel Inuyasha's fear, now mixed with a feeling of helplessness, swirling around him like a storm.

"Inuyasha", Kagome said, the first time she directly addressed him since they had stepped into the car, "do you remember what I said to you back at my house?"

Inuyasha tensed again but didn't reply. Kagome was getting tired of him acting like she wasn't there. She reached her hand out to touch him and as her fingers brushed against Inuyasha's cheek the now expected jolt shot through both of them. Inuyasha jumped, nearly hitting his head to the car's low hanging ceiling, and turned around in a flash to meet Kagome's eyes.

"Do you remember?" She repeated firmly.

_I said I want to be in your life. You said you want me to be there. If this is your life then I'm not backing down._

As if Kagome could tell him all that through touch alone, Inuyasha blinked slowly and nodded. He gently took the hand Kagome held on his cheek and gave it a small squeeze before letting go. He then glanced both Miroku and Sango who were following their exchange from the corners of their eyes.

"How much do you know about demons and politics?" Inuyasha suddenly asked. Kagome blinked a few times in confusion.

"Uhh… Well, demons are citizens of Japan, and I know that there is an official branch of government for demon affairs, and then there is the Demon Association of Japan that campaigns for the demon rights", Kagome listed. Inuyasha shook his head.

"Those are bullshit. Humans like to think they have any control over demons but no demon worth their shit takes orders from humans. The only thing demon's respect is power, so whoever is the strongest is the leader."

"And that is a very loose use of that term", Miroku cut in. Inuyasha nodded in agreement.

"Only way to stay on top in demon world is to constantly prove you're stronger than others", Inuyasha continued. "It's a fucking miracle demon's didn't die out just fromfighting with each other constantly."

"Of course, all battles between demons weren't just boasting. Most of them were territorial disputes since many demons are tied to certain areas, like mountains and rivers, or maybe even one specific tree, and don't take it too kindly when others come snooping around their homes", Miroku explained. "And that is the main reason why there are so few demon's left. Humans have managed to kill most of the demon population without realizing by simply destroying their natural habitants. Pollution, logging, mining, anything really that causes changes in nature. You see, we humans may not be as strong or fast or long-lived as demons are but we have few advantages over them. One", Miroku raised one finger, "is that we are far more adaptable than demons. We can live almost anywhere, provided we have water, food and shelter. Two", another finger rose, "compared to demons we breed like rabbits so even if they decided to kill us all they couldn't wipe out seven billion individuals without backlash. Meanwhile only one in maybe hundred demons will ever produce offspring. Some will die before getting the chance, some see having children as creating new possible advesaries and some demons just don't see any reason in having children. I guess the natural life span of several thousand years could make you think that."

"They won't breed and they won't adapt so they go extinct... So demons are basically less cuddly pandas? " Kagome asked. Miroku snorted.

"Not an analogy I would use but yes, basically. And I wouldn't say less cuddly, I mean, Inuyasha is very cuddly if you ask me."

"Eat shit, Miroku", Inuyasha grunted.

"I'd rather not, thank you."

"Is this going somewhere?" Sango cut in impatiently, interrupting whatever rude remark Inuyasha was about to say next. "I mean, this is all actually interesting and everything but we still don't know why you two are acting like we are all in mortal danger."

"I was just getting to that. You see, not being able to adapt to changes and not procreating fast enough puts demons in a rather desperate position. The only way for demons to survive would be working together but as we stated already demons really don't like doing that. Only thing that would work would be uniting all demons under one exceptionally strong individual who could keep everyone in line." The lines around Miroku's mouth deepened. "Now the question is just who is the strongest."

Inuyasha instinctively let out a low growl.

"There was one, over a hundred years ago. A very powerful and old demon who also happened to be a good leader who had a lot of followers from the start which is really rare for demons", Miroku continued, his voice growing louder to cover up Inuyasha. "He rounded up the remaining demons in Japan and somehow got them to realize that they would go extinct if actions weren't taken. And his suggestion was to live alongside humans."

Kagome and Sango shared a look.

"Well, as you can imagine the suggestion wasn't met with applause", Miroku said and smiled a little, "for most demons us humans are like cockroaches that multiply, spread uncontrollably and destroy everything, so the whole idea of co-existence was unthinkable. There were fights, groups of demons banding together against their new leader, even some of his own lieutenants turned against him. But this demon, he really was the strongest. So after a while what remained of the demons who had turned against him realized fighting was pointless and that for their own good they should just do what he says."

"That's very… Authoritarian", Kagome said, her nose crinkling in disapproval.

"Demons aren't very big on the whole democracy thing", Miroku agreed. "Anyway, things kind of calmed down for a moment and it looked like demons wouldn't go extinct from Japan after all. But that was before their leader died."

The only audible sound in the car for a while was the whirring of the air conditioner.

"Died?" Kagome whispered. "Someone managed to kill him?"

"Most likely", Miroku said, his voice low, "but the strange thing is that no one took credit for it. Demons are extremely proud so if they manage to kill someone this strong they will boast about it. But this time – nothing."

"But wouldn't killing the leader make the killer the new leader? I mean, killing someone who was thought to be the strongest would prove your own superiority, right?" Sango asked, her brows drawing together.

"It would indeed, so the whole situation was extremely strange, to put it lightly. Anyway, you can imagine what happened after the one thing uniting the demons was gone. Anyone who was anything in the demon world was battling for the right to be the new leader."

Kagome felt her throat tighten. She had a nasty feeling about where all of this was going.

"Well, eventually a victor emerged. You see, the old and powerful demon had a son, surprisingly. He was second only to his own father in power, even more proud than he was and absolutely ruthless. He rounded up what remained of the demons and to everybody's surprise continued where his father had left off. Now I would say he hates humans but that would mean he'd consider humans to be worthy of his opinion", Miroku added and turned his head to glimpse at the two women sitting in the backseat. "Maybe he wished to honor his great father, who knows. You can never tell with him. However most demons still weren't fond of the idea of revealing their existence to humans and even less fond of their new leader who had been slaughtering their comrades, so thoughts of rebellion were still burning strong. But this demon, while not a natural leader like his father was, was determined to stay in power. He gathered those who had been loyal to his father before bringing in those demons who had led the battles against him and his father before surrendering and pledging their loyalty. And he executed them without blinking an eye."

"But they had surrendered!" Kagome exclaimed. "What reason did he had to kill them?"

"Display of power", Miroku said simply. "His father was known for treating everyone fairly and ruling through respect rather than fear. His son believes respect comes from fear. But he also knows that fear can only take you so far", Miroku said and paused for a moment before asking: "have you seen the movie "The Godfather'?"

Both Kagome and Sango nodded.

"Well, that movie gives you a pretty good idea of how things work with him. He offers you protection in exchange of absolute loyalty, meaning that when he tells you to kill your own grandmother you ask - "

"'How should I kill her?'" Inuyasha finished, his eyes burning with hate.

Miroku nodded, his mouth tight. Kagome started to understand where all of this was heading and she felt a lump forming in her throat.

"What happens if you disobey him?" She asked, her voice slightly hoarse.

Like she didn't already know the answer.

"Sometimes he let's you off, sometimes he punishes you. Sometimes he kills you. You never know what plans he has for you", Miroku replied simply.

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed. Kagome and Sango looked at each other and then Inuyasha, both processing what they had heard and what it all implied. Sango swallowed and half whispered: "what is his name?"

Inuyasha's growl deepened, rumbling deep from his chest as his teeth grinded together.

"Sesshomaru. His name is Sesshomaru." He spat out he name like it was poison he couldn't get rid of quickly enough.

"And to me he's known as 'my boss'", Miroku added.

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, incoming nausea making her world swirl.  _Now it makes sense,_ she thought.  _I'm so stupid._

"You know that if you would have told this to us earlier we wouldn't be in this car on our way to meet the demon version of Marlon Brando", Sango said, her voice oddly even but Kagome could feel her rising panic that mimicked her own.

"If I remember correctly the words 'danger' and 'death' were uttered at some point", Miroku said, his voice just as even as Sango's and hiding just as much emotion behind it.

"But if you'd told us the whole story then we would have understood!" Sango argued.

"That is true but you see, that also would have put you in danger. It's forbidden to talk about all of this to any outsiders because if he wants to stay in power Sesshomaru needs the world to think that humans are in control. So if we had told you the situation would be exactly same it is now, except now Sesshomaru doesn't have to send someone over to make sure you stay silent", Miroku replied. "Now this way we are at least keeping him away from Miss Higurashi's family. A silver lining, someone might call it."

Sango must have replied something but Kagome had stopped listening. Her focus was solely on Inuyasha. She could barely see him in the now dark car, but the flaming gold of his eyes were like beacons directed at her.

"I'm sorry", she whispered, her words barely audible but she knew Inuyasha could hear her just fine. He shook his head slightly and then, with a voice loud enough that everyone in the car could hear, said "I'm the reason why you all are in this mess. So I'm getting you out."

"It's not your fault!" Kagome said instantly. She twisted the hem of her dress in her fingers in a desperate attempt to find some sort of purchase in a situation that felt like the ground was giving away underneath her.

"It kind of is", Sango stated, not unkindly. Didn't stop Kagome from wanting to slap her best friend, though.

"If this situation is anyone's fault it's mine!" Kagome said heatedly. She felt the fear that had been swirling in her subside and being replaced with anger that was kicking her into action. "I forced myself into this situation, dragged Sango with me and forced Miroku to tell secrets that can potentially get us all killed! There has to be something I can do to fix this!"

Inuyasha looked at her for a moment and then sighed. "You're not gonna do shit. You'd just make things worse."

It was a statement, not an insult, but still it made Kagome feel like Inuyasha had punched her in the stomach. Tears of frustration were prickling in the corner of her eyes and she blinked rapidly a few times to stop them from falling. Inuyasha must have noticed based on how quickly he spoke. "You can't plead with Sesshomaru, that just pisses him off. You can't make deals with him unless you have something the bastard wants, which you don't have. He doesn't give a shit about humans and what they think, so the only person in this car who can do anything is me."

Miroku tapped the steering wheel thoughtfully. "Maybe you're right. Maybe we're overcomplicating this. Maybe Miss Saito and Miss Higurashi could just wait it out somewhere while we're dealing with Sesshomaru. I too doubt he actually cares if two human women from a small town in a middle of nowhere know about him. No offence."

"None taken", Sango said wryly.

"Sesshomaru cares when it's me", Inuyasha cut in and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That bastard will do everything he can to make my life fucking miserable, and when he smells Kagome on me she becomes just another thing for him to use against me."

Miroku let out a low whistle. "Well… I didn't know your relationship was  _that_  deep, congratulations to you both - "

"It's not that, you fucking idiot!" Inuyasha roared, his face going through all the shades of red. In the backseat Kagome's face mirrored his and Sango tried to hide her smile behind the back of her hand.

"My mistake", Miroku chuckled. Inuyasha popped his knuckles dangerously but before he could beat down on Miroku the man raised his hand.

"We're nearly there so let's figure out a proper plan of action instead of just throwing words around. Inuyasha, I know you think you need to fix this on your own but we four are in this together so we need to get out of this together too. Agreed?"

"Agreed", Sango said. Kagome nodded. Inuyasha sighed and ran his hand through his bangs, tugging them slightly.

"Miroku and I can handle ourselves so getting Kagome and Sango out of this is our goal", he said. His words were firm, leaving no room for arument. Miroku nodded.

"You're right. And I still think leaving Miss Higurashi and Miss Saito both somewhere safe would be the best course of action in that case. It would keep them both away from Sesshomaru and, like we already stated, he doesn't put much value on humans so he probably doesn't care that you have Kagome's scent on you", he speculated.

"He's a miserable shithead who feels no joy unless he's fucking up my life", Inuyasha said bluntly. "Also there's nowhere in Tokyo that he can't find them from."

"Totosai's, maybe", Miroku suggested.

"Not dragging that old geezer into this."

Miroku's brows drew together. "First you're against Miss Higurashi coming with as and now that I'm suggesting that we leave her and Miss Saito somewhere potentially more safe you're suddenly against it? Do you want them to come with us?"

Inuyasha groaned. "No I don't want that! I'm still against it, I'm against fucking everything that's happening now! I'm just saying how things are!"

Miroku was about to reply but Sango cut in. "We already established that whatever we do we are in danger so I'd like to get this all over with so we're coming with you all the way and that's final."

"We are not leaving you two alone", Kagome agreed firmly.  _I'm not leaving Inuyasha alone._

Miroku inhaled deeply and then let out a sigh. "I guess there's no telling you two what to do. I admire that in women but not so much that I want to see you die for it."

"Too bad for you", Sango said and leaned back, crossing her arms with determined gleam in her eyes. Miroku could only shake his head and smile.

" _You really are something, Miss Saito."_

Kagome's lip twitched as she leaned against the window with her eyes closed again, protecting her eyes from the harsh yellow of the streetlights and helping her focus.

For the large chunk of the drive they had been traveling on the highway, with only an occasional car crossing their path since it was getting late. When they had entered Tokyo, passing through residential areas had been fairly easy for Kagome. Most people were sleeping by now, and those who weren't were comfortably tucked inside, far enough that Kagome couldn't hear them. But as they got closer and closer to the heart of the largest city in the world the amount of people out and awake grew steadily. When the highway finally merged with the inner city streets packed with taxis and pedestrians milling about Kagome found her head being assaulted with thousands of thoughts at the same time. She felt the headache that had been gently dancing on her temples to kick in with full force and she bit her teeth hard together.

"Are you alright?" Inuyasha's voice carried to her from the front seat. Kagome cracked open an eye to watch how Inuyasha had turned on his seat to look at her, worry clear on his face. Kagome hoped she didn't look as pained as she felt.

"Crowds give me headaches", she replied simply. "And I'm not used to being around this many people at the same time."

Inuyasha's brows drew together.

"Can you manage? We're nearly there", he asked.

Kagome laughed. "There is really nothing else I can do than manage." Inuyasha's worry for her made her feel better than she had all night, despite the pounding in her head.  _We'll manage_ _to get through this,_ she promised to herself.

With a few slightly illegal moves Miroku managed to steer them out of the traffic flow and towards the quieter area where the tall company buildings made out of glass and steel stood side by side, forming a dark wall only illuminated by occasional light coming from an office window. The streets were almost empty if not counting the few salarymen dragging themselves home, and while the stress that crowds gave her started to diminish Kagome's stress over the events about to unfold increased tenfold.

"That's it", Inuyasha said and pointed at a building that looked exactly the same as the rest on the street. Kagome and Sango both leaned forward to see better.

"It's so… Ordinary", Sango said with a slightly baffled voice.

"It's supposed to be. People are not supposed to know it's the headguarters of the demon shadow government", Miroku said while pulling to the curb. "You wait here. I'm going to find a place to park."

"Be quick", Inuyasha grunted as he exited the car, followed by Kagome and Sango. Miroku nodded and drove off, leaving the rest of the group stand on the sidewalk. Sango did a few stretches to get the feeling back to her limbs after sitting in the car for hours, while Kagome and Inuyasha turned to examine the building.

"I can't hear anything", Kagome said. Even if it was late there should have been someone inside, like a cleaner or a doorman, but Kagome caught nothing but silence. "Are there really no humans inside?"

"No, the only human allowed in is Miroku", Inuyasha said. Kagome's brow rised.

"Really? Is Miroku really the only human who works for him?"

"There are couple of other humans he keeps around for running errands but Miroku's the only one he trusts near this place."

"So does that mean he likes Miroku?" Kagome asked. She was getting curious about the one-gloved man with a smooth tongue again. Next to her Sango had stopped doing her stretches and was now hanging onto their every word.

Inuyasha snorted. "It really doesn't. Sesshomaru hates humans, remember?"

"So why doesn he employ Miroku then, if he hates humans so much?" Kagome pushed.

"They have a deal going on", Inuyasha stated simply. His tone clearly implied that he wasn't going to tell her anything more so Kagome swallowed down her curiosity.

"So, if he employs other humans why is Miroku the only one allowed to be here then?" She asked instead.

"There are humans who want demons dead", Miroku's voice came from behind them and the group turned to look at him coming towards them while twirling the car keys around his finger. "Place like this would be an excellent spot to get rid of few. And Sesshomaru knows I have no such plans laid out."

"How can humans kill demons? They are much tougher than humans are", Sango entered the conversation. She was eyeing Miroku, studying the man in front of her.

"They are", Miroku agreed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "But a determined enough human could figure out a way."

"Huh", was Sango's only reply.

For a while the group just stood where they were, looking at the building in silence. While Kagome could feel the anxiety coming from Sango and Miroku that mirrored her own, Inuyasha's anxiety that had plagued him during their ride had suddenly vanished. Instead what Kagome could feel coming from him was calm resolve. His shoulders were pulled back, his chin was raised and his eyes were trained at the door.  _It's like he's going to a fight,_ Kagome thought,  _and whatever the outcome he's ready for it._

"One last thing", Miroku said. "Mind what you're saying. Several people in that building can hear through walls."

"Maybe we all should just stay quiet then", Sango muttered.

"That works too."

After few more heartbeats of silence Inuyasha cracked his neck loudly and declared "let's go". The rest of the group nodded and in unison they started walking towards the door, shoulder to shoulder like they were marching in front of an entire army. Kagome felt her heartbeat rising the closer the plain looking glass double doors came. When Miroku broke from the line to open the door with a plastic key-card Kagome was sure her heart was going to leap out from her through her throat. Inuyasha must have heard it because suddenly Kagome felt the skin off the back of his hand pressing against her own. She welcomed the familiarity of the jolt that shot through her body.

_We'll manage._

The door made a small beep and Miroku pulled it open. "Ladies first", he said and beckoned Kagome and Sango to step inside. Both women took in deep breaths before stepping through the doors and entering the pristine white entrance hall that looked remarkably dull and ordinary and not at all like it would house an entire secret government. In the middle of the hall there was a reception desk that was currently occupied by a single old man wearing a blue uniform of a doorman and who staring intently at his computer screen. Kagome instantly knew that the wrinkly man was a demon, if only for the fact that she couldn't hear his thoughts.

_But he looks so much like a human..._

"Good evening", Miroku greeted politely.

"He's waiting for you two", was the old man's reply. He didn't even bother to hide the clear distaste in his voice. Miroku nodded, and without another word continued past the desk and towards the two elevators at the back of the room. The rest of the group followed him. From the corner of her eye Kagome could see the old demon turning from his game of solitaire on the computer and stretching his neck to inhuman lengths, his head turning good 180 degrees to follow the two women walking by. Kagome shuddered.

_So much for the looking like a human thing..._

Miroku pushed the call button for the elevator and leaned against the wall.

"His office is on the top floor. It actually has a pretty nice view if you get the chance to enjoy such things", he said conversationally.

"I hope he won't shred us to pieces before we get the chance to admire it", Sango replied dryly and leaned against the wall on the other side of the elevator doors.

"Yes, I hope that too."

The doors opened with a cheerful 'pling' and the group loaded themselves in to the cart lined with mirrors. Miroku swiped his card again and pushed the top button of the row. The doors closed and they started moving slowly upwards. Kagome's heart was beating faster and faster, making her feel like she was going to throw up, and without even realizing it her hand searched for Inuyasha's hand. Inuyasha's eyes widened and he quickly turned to look at her. Kagome's eyes were glued to the elevator's door, her heart was beating so fast he was worried she was going to faint and her small hand squeezed his with all the might she had. Inuyasha barely felt her grip when he gently squeezed back.

The elevator informed them that they had reached the top floor with the same cheerful 'pling'.

"Here we go", Inuyasha muttered, letting his hand slide away from Kagome's. The doors slided open and he made sure to be the first to step out.

"You're here! Finally!" An annoying, quacking voice exclaimed.

"Yeah yeah", Inuyasha said dismissively. He was blocking the view so Kagome wasn't able to see who he was talking to, so she took the time to observe her surroundings. The room they were now standing in was obviously a waiting area of some sorts, with two low, uncomfortable looking leather sofas and a desk for a secretary next to a pair of big black double doors. The room was minimally furnished, lacking the few tastefully placed pieces of art and potted plants the waiting rooms of that caliber usually had, but what the room lacked in art it made up for in its massive floor to ceiling length windows that were now providing a truly magnificent view of the Tokyo night sky.

"You weren't lying", Sango said absentmindedly to Miroku, "it really is a great view."

"I would never lie to you, Miss Saito", Miroku replied with a smooth voice. Sango rolled her eyes and was about to reply something biting but the quacking voice interrupted her.

"Humans! Why have you brought humans here you idiot of a half-breed!"

_Half-breed?_

Inuyasha huffed. "None of your fucking business."

"Oh but it is! Everything that is Master Sesshomaru's business is also mine! So now explain to me why have you brought unauthoritized humans here, of all places!"

Inuyasha crossed his arms and shifted his position, enabling Kagome to see who was talking. She was surprised that she had to angle her line of sight so low. The creature talking was tiny, barely coming up to Kagome's waist, with swampy green leathery skin, bulging yellow eyes and a beak-like mouth. His small foot tapped against the stone floor impatiently, waiting for an explanation that Inuyasha wasn't going to give.

"We have our reasons, Jaken", Miroku said calmly and came to stand next to Inuyasha, effectively blocking Kagome and Sango from his sight.

"Those better be good reasons!" The demon called Jaken raved. "Ooh just wait until Master Sesshomaru hears about this!"

"We are prepared to face whatever consequences our actions might cause", Miroku said mechanically. He looked like he was already bored with the conversation.

"Consequences? Ha! There sure will be consequences!" Jaken pointed at Inuyasha with his three fingered hand. "He leaves without permission only to return after a year and bringing two humans with him! And you!" He pointed at Miroku. "You allowed that!"

"What could I have done? I'm just a human, after all", Miroku shrugged. While his voice was perfectly neutral it was clear to everyone in the room he was making fun of the small green demon. Jaken's already bulging eyes seemed to bulge even more as the small creature inhaled deeply. However before he could release whatever tirade he had planned out the black double doors slammed open, making everyone in the room jump. Acting on pure instinct Inuyasha moved into a defensive position, his arm reaching behind him to pull Kagome against his back in a protective move that blocked the entire room from Kagome, filling her field of vision entirely with silver hair and broad expanse of shoulders instead.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Inuyasha spat out at whoever it was who had walked through the doors. Kagome tried to look over his shoulder but his arm wouldn't budge.

"Well hello to you too, Mutt." A low, sensual female voice said, every word dripping sarcasm. "We haven't met for so long so and this is how you greet me?"

An animalistic growl came deep from Inuyasha's chest. The female voice chuckled.

"No need to be hostile. I'm not here to fight you. I have better things to do, trust me."

Inuyasha didn't budge from his defensive position, but Kagome managed to wrangle herself loose enough to be able to peek past him and finally look at the woman who was talking. She just barely managed to swallow down the gasp that tried to escape from her.

The woman in front of them had a perfect pale oval face, with small lips that were curled in an amused smile that didn't reach her large, strikingly blood red eyes. Her dark hair was up in an intentionally careless twist, revealing the expensive looking earrings hanging from her pointed ears. She was tall and willowy, with long slender limbs that reminded Kagome of a dancer. She was dressed in a form-fitting purple wrap dress and heeled boots, and for some reason she was carrying a large fan, letting it dangle carelessly from her loose grip.

She was breathtaking, but in a same sense that a hurricane was breathtaking, and it didn't take long to understand why Inuyasha had reacted the way he had when the woman had walked into the room.

_She's dangerous._

The woman saw Kagome shuffling nervously behind Inuyasha and her red eyes widened.

"A human?" She asked, clearly surprised. Inuyasha growled louder, but the woman ignored him and with two long strides she was standing in front of Inuyasha, lazily gesturing with her fan.

"Hmm", she hummed, studying whatever she could see of Kagome who tried not to hide behind Inuyasha's shoulder like a child. "So, you found someone to rut against while you were hiding like a coward?"

Inuyasha jerked forward like he was about to attack but the woman raised both of her hands in a lazy effort of showing she meant no harm.

"I don't want to offend, I mean, I guess you had to pass the time some way in that little town you were holed in."

"How did you know where he was?" Miroku asked quickly, drawing the demon's attention to himself. Kagome noticed he was shielding Sango with his body much in the same way Inuyasha was shielding her.

The demon woman's red lips drew into a snarl.

"Did I give you permission to talk to me?" She asked, raising her fan up in a threatening manner like he was about to strike Miroku with it. To his credit Miroku didn't even flinch, but Kagome still sunk further back behind Inuyasha.

Before the woman could do anything, a voice carried through the black double doors the woman had left open behind her.

"Kagura."

The voice was perfectly even, neutral and emotionless, and it made Kagome shivered just from hearing it. The woman called Kagura dropped the fan immediately and turned away from Miroku like he suddenly wasn't there.

"I'm going, I'm going", she said, throwing a quick glance at Inuyasha and Kagome before walking slowly towards the elevator. Everyone in the room followed her in silence as she pressed the call button. The doors opened with a 'pling' and when Kagura stepped she turned to shoot one last wicked smile at Inuyasha.

"She is really cute. For a human. Better enjoy her while you can."

This time Inuyasha actually lunged forward, but Kagome's grip on his shirt made him stop before he could attack the woman. Kagura scoffed mockingly as the doors closed on her. No one moved before the electric sign above the elevator door showed that she had reached the bottom floor.

"Anyone else getting really bad wibes from her?" Sango muttered. She wasn't too happy about Miroku protecting her, but at the same time she was grateful that some sort of buffer had existed between herself and the demon woman, and if it had to be the attractive dark haired man who smelled like musk then so be it.

"You haven't seen anything yet", Miroku muttered back and relaxed his stance. Inuyasha, however, still remained in his defensive position, eyes fixed on the black double doors. Inuyasha was standing in such an angle that Kagome couldn't see what was inde the room but she had a very good idea of what was waiting for them.

"Jaken", the even voice called. The small green demon squaked and pattered over to the open door as fast as his short legs carried him.

"Y-yes Master Sesshomaru?" He stuttered, his back hunched in a bow.

"Send them in."

"Yes, Master Sesshomaru! Right away, Master Sesshomaru!"

Jaken turned towards Inuyasha and the rest of the group, his small form practically glowing with self-importance.

"This way, if you will. Master Sesshomaru is expecting you", he said with a grand voice and gestured with his arm.

Inuyasha took in a deep breath through his nose and finally let himself relax, freeing Kagome from his protective vise hold. She moved to his side, gently touched his arm and nodded.

_Let's do this._

Inuyasha nodded back and with sure and purposeful strides he started moving towards the looming doors, leaving Kagome to stand on her own. Miroku joined Inuyasha, the two walking shoulder to shoulder, followed by Sango who took a firm hold of Kagome's hand and together the two women entered the room.

Miroku was right. While Kagura had been an unsettling presence, she was nothing compared to the figure who was waiting for them, casually standing behind a simple desk made out of black steel while leafing through papers. Kagome's every instinct was telling her to turn on her heel and run away as fast as she could. And yet despite her instincts she couldn't stop staring at him.

_So this is him. Sesshomaru._

He was tall, easily towering over Inuyasha and Miroku, and had almost feminine face with high cheekbones, thin eyebrows and delicate lips. The two purple stripes on either side of his face, the violet crescent moon shape on his high forehead and his pointed ears were obvious indicators that he wasn't human.

Kagome barely even registered any of those things. She had never seen anyone like him before, and yet she had, and the familiarity was tying her stomach to knots. The build of his body, the proud way he carried himself with and the aura of agelessness that surrounded him. His hair was longer and much more well maintained than the one she was used to seeing, but the familiar silver color was there. His eyes, however, while the familiar shade of molten gold were cold, calculating, and betrayed nothing. The eyes Kagome knew were full of fire and life, sincerity and kindness.

The same eyes that now were full of fear and anger.

"Good for you to finally join us, Inuyasha", Sesshomaru said, not looking up. His voice carried easily through the room.

Inuyasha looked like he was being forced to eat glass.

"Just get to the fucking point", he growled. Sesshomaru's face stayed perfectly impassive but Kagome was sure she saw his brow twitch as he finally lifted his head enough to look Inuyasha in the eyes.

Jaken let out an offended squeak. "How dare you to speak to Master Sesshomaru that way! You should be grateful to stand in his presence - "

"Be quiet, Jaken", Sesshomaru commanded without even turning to look at the small demon. Jaken snapped his mouth shut instantly and backed into a corner of the room while mantaining a deep bow, muttering something to himself.

No one paid him any attention.

"You disobeyed me", Sesshomaru said bluntly at Inuyasha. "You disobeyed me and then you ran away like a coward instead of facing consequences. And now you're here again and I'm not letting you walk away from what you did."

"I saved a life, that's what I did! I wasn't about to be punished for that!" Inuyasha said heatedly, his hands squeezed into white-knuckled fists.

"You killed a demon when I specifically told you I wanted him alive."

"Who had already killed two demons and was about to kill a third!"

"It wasn't your decision to make", Sesshomaru said. While his voice was still neutral a coldness had started steeping into it that made the fine hairs on Kagome's arm stand up.

"The fuck it was!" Inuyasha was now yelling and everyone in the room could see he wasn't helping his case. Even though Sesshomaru's outward appearance didn't change the way his eyes were hardening was enough to tell that he was reaching the end of his patience. Miroku took a step closer to Inuyasha and landed his hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down but Inuyasha simply shook him off and continued on, either not noticing or not caring.

"I wasn't going to let a fucking scum like that kill a child! I don't give a fuck what you say, I'm not going to let bastards like Manten walk around hurting others any longer than they already have. You were going to kill him anyway, you should thank me for saving your precious fucking time!"

"I gave you a direct order", Sesshomaru said, slowly, like Inuyasha was just a child throwing a tantrum who needed to be taught a lession.

"I'm not taking any shit from you anymore", Inuyasha hissed, taking one step forward. Kagome wanted to reach out and pull him back but Sango's hand in hers stopped her.

"So fuck your orders and fuck you!" Inuyasha finally spat out, anger now completely replacing any fear left in him.

He moved so fast he was impossible to follow. In one moment Sesshomaru was standing on the other side of the room and in the next he was standing next to Inuyasha, grabbing him by his throat and lifting him off the ground, making his feet dangle pitifully above the floor.

Kagome let out a yell as she and Sango stumbled backwards and away from Sesshomaru, nearly falling to the floor in the progress. Miroku leaped to grab Sango by her shoulders and pulled both of the women further away from the two demons, his eyes full of fear for what was coming next.

"If I were you I'd choose my words more wisely", Sesshomaru said quetly, his face only few inches away from Inuyasha's, "for I am the only reason you have been allowed to live this long, little brother."

Sango shot a wide-eyed look at Kagome, but Kagome didn't notice. Her eyes were firmly on Inuyasha. Right now she didn't care about what blood Inuyasha shared with Sesshomaru, not when he was squeezing on Inuyasha's throat and making it visibly hard for him to breathe.

"I could easily end it all here right now", Sesshomaru continued, almost wistfully, "but I made a promise to our father and I plan on honoring it. So I won't kill you, but know this: step out of line again and I will let it slip that you are no longer under my protection and I will let them hunt you down like the animal that you are and tear you to pieces. You and your little friends." His tone was almost affectionate as he nodded his head to where Miroku was holding back Sango and Kagome. Kagome felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over her.

"You… fucking… coward", Inuyasha managed to rasp out, struggling against the hand closed around his throat. Sesshomaru's eyes flashed as he tightened his grip.

"What did you say?" He asked, threat clear in his voice.

Inuyasha's eyes were burning as he stopped clawing the hand that was holding him and instead chose to give Sesshomaru an arrogant smirk.

"Can't kill me yourself so you let a bunch of demons do it for you, you pathetic fucking coward."

Without giving any further warning Sesshomaru tightened his grip, cutting off whatever air Inuyasha had left, and his long nails burrowed into the flesh of his neck. Beads of blood started to roll down Inuyasha's skin and Kagome gasped.

"If you are so eager to die", Sesshomaru said, his voice barely a whisper, "then who am I to deny you the pleasure?"

The tips of his fingers flared with green light, and the disgusting smell of burning flesh and Inuyasha's involuntary howl of pain filled Kagome's every sense, blurring out every other thing around her. Before she even realized she had wrenched herself free from Sango's grasp and sprinted towars Sesshomaru.

"Stop!" She screamed and with her small, soft and very human hands she grabbed his pale wrist like she could physically make Sesshomaru release his grip.

Sesshomaru's eyes snapped instantly to Kagome, his head moving so fast Kagome didn't even realize he had moveed at all, nailing the young woman to the spot. For the first time since Kagome had entered the room Sesshomaru was looking at her, really looking at her instead of just dismissing her as one of the insignificant humans Inuyasha had dragged in with him. His eyes widened, only for a fraction of a second, before he unceremoniously let go of Inuyasha, letting him fall clumsily on his feet before turning to look down on Kagome. Kagome let go of his arm like it had burned her and stumbled back a few steps.

"Who are you?" Sesshomaru asked. It was a command, not a question. Kagome opened her mouth but she was hardly able to breathe, let alone form words.

"Leave her the fuck alone", Inuyasha croaked. He was breathing heavily, holding a hand on his neck to suppress the blood that was now freely flowing down his neck as he moved again to block Kagome from the view despite growing paler and paler by the minute. Sesshomaru looked at him and Kagome could swear he was almost amused.

"Where did you find her?" He asked Inuyasha.

"None of your business", Inuyasha barked.

"I assume the answer is the pitiful town you were found hiding in."

"And what if it is?"

"Hmm", Sesshomaru hummed, his eyes thoughtful. Then, like he had just finished a conversation instead of strangling someone and threathening their life, Sesshomaru turned away from Inuyasha and Kagome and stroded back to his desk with almost lazy steps. He seated himself gracefully down and leaned his chin against his intertwined fingers, studying the occupants in the room. His eyes landed to where Miroku was standing, still holding Sango by the shoulders.

"I want you to go with Inuyasha", Sesshomaru said.

Miroku blinked. "What?" He asked weakly.

"Go with Inuyasha. I need you to make sure I can contact with him when needed", Sesshomaru explained, his voice perfectly neutral again.

"How about you get him a phone instead?" Miroku asked dumbly, clearly dazed by the whiplash turn in their situation. He looked around and saw that his three companions were just as confused by the events as he was.

"Inuyasha, what happened to the last phone I gave you", Sesshomaru asked calmly, ignoring Miroku's tone.

"Threw it in the Tokyo Bay", Inuyasha replied automatically. Kagome swore she saw a glimpse of amusement in Sesshomaru's golden eyes.

"There's your answer."

"Wait, why do you need to contact me?" Inuyasha asked with a frown. He was now swaying from side to side, the steady trickle of blood pushing through his fingers making him feel unstable on his feet, but he stubbornly tried to ignore it.

"You work for me", Sesshomaru stated, looking at Inuyasha like he was simple.

"No I don't."

"Yes, you do. Jaken!" Sesshomaru called. The toad-like little demon rushed over in an instant and bowed deeply. "Yes, Master Sesshomaru, what do you need?"

"Bring something to stop the bleeding."

The room stopped. Kagome and Inuyasha glanced at each other, and then where the flowing blood had formed a growing stain on his shirt.

"Yes, Master Sesshomaru, right away, Master Sesshomaru", Jaken said and hastily took off to where his desk was standing just outside of the door. Everyone listened on how he opened and closed cabinets, suffling through their contents before finding what he was looking for and pattered back. He was holding a white first aid kit in his small hands.

"Give it to her", Sesshomaru subtly leaned his head towards Kagome. Kagome instantly came forward to take the kit from Jaken, and completely missed the way the tiny demon, who for the first time got a good glimpse of her face, was staring at her and rushed back to Inuyasha.

"Sit to the ground", she ordered and Inuyasha clumsily did as he was told, his eyes never leaving from Sesshomaru who was watching them with almost serene look on his face. Gingerly Kagome peeled Inuyasha's bloody, clammy hand from his neck and tried not to grimace when she saw the wound. Four clear punctures in a vertical line, trickling blood in a steady flow like some sort of twisted fountain. The edges of the punctures looked like they had been burned by something corrosive and Kagome quickly, and with minimal shaking of hands, started disinfecting them. Inuyasha grunted from pain but stayed completely still, letting Kagome wipe the blood from his skin and dress the wounds with her best ability. Her own hands were quickly stained red but she didn't even seem to notice.

"You need stitching", she said with a shaky breath and sat down to the floor next to Inuyasha and started cleaning his hand with a damp piece of gauze. The smell of disinfectant was eyewatering.

"You cleaned the poison out so the skin should start healing. Don't worry about me", Inuyasha replied.

Kagome gave him a lopsided grin.

"Tell me that when you're not covered in blood."

"Are you finished?" Sesshomaru's voice cut in.

"I am", Kagome replied and helped Inuyasha to stand up. He was breathing heavily but already looked significantly better without the streaks of blood going down his neck.

Sesshomaru studied the pair for a moment before turning to where Miroku and Sango were still standing. Sango was gripping Miroku's sleeve with a spasm-like grip now, both of them following the scene in front of them with open-mouthed disbelief.

"Make sure he answers when I call for him", Sesshomaru said to Miroku, before turning to look out of the window. "Now, leave."

Miroku was first to stirr into action, gently removing Sango's hold from his shirt. Then he moved to where Kagome was supporting Inuyasha.

"Can you walk?" He asked. Inuyasha scoffed.

"Of course I can", he replied haughtily. The effect was somewhat ruined by the fine shaking of his limbs.

"Then walk", Miroku said, "I want to get out as fast as I can."

"Don't have to tell me", Inuyasha muttered and started to move towards the doors. Kagome was keeping her hold tight on his arm but it was clear he didn't really need to be supported. The color was returning to his face steadily and only the slight unsureness of his step was any indication that he just had lost a significant amount of blood. While walking past her Miroku placed his hand gently between Sango's shoulder blades and started guiding the still startled woman out. When the group came to the elevator Kagome reached out to push the call button. They all could feel Sesshomaru's eyes on them but no one even dared to think about turning to look at him. Only when they had safely stepped into the elevator, the doors had closed and the car was moving downwards they were all free to slump against the walls with audible sighs. Inuyasha looked down to where Kagome was still holding onto his arm like she was afraid either of them would fall down if she'd stop. Her hands were still covered in blood.

Gently Inuyasha removed Kagome's right hand from his arm and took it into his own, lifting it up slightly so he could better study the mess. Kagome turned to face him with a questioning look.

"You need to wash your hands", he said with a low voice.

Kagome nodded and instinctively started pulling her dirty hands away from Inuyasha's clean ones.

Inuyasha didn't let go of her before the elevator stopped again.

...

Back in his top floor office Sesshomaru was sitting in complete silence behind his desk, leaning his head against his hands and studying the shining metallic surface with his usual expressionless manner. Jaken shuffled nervously closer to him, his bald green head barely visible over the rim.

"Master Sesshomaru, am I mistaken but did the human girl who treated the half-breed look exactly like - "

"Yes", Sesshomaru cut in, his eyes still firmly on the desk. "She looked exactly like her."

"Impossible", Jaken breathed out. "It's impossible."

"Nothing in this world is impossible, just highly unlikely", Sesshomaru replied. He sounded distant, like he was deep in tought. Then suddenly he stood up from his desk and walked to the window. He looked up to the sky, the lights of the city making it void of stars and he stood there for a while, watching it all. A corner of his eye twitched before he turned back to Jaken, who had followed him to the window.

"Find her."

"Huh?" Jaken said dumbly.

"Find her. My idiot of a little brother finding a human girl who looks exactly like her and bringing her here is not a coincidence. Something is about to happen and I want her to tell me what."

"But..." Jaken started, "but Master Sesshomaru, no one has seen her in over 50 years! She could very well be dead!"

"No", Sesshomaru dismissed the green demon instantly. "If she were dead we would know."

The implication of his words hung heavy in the room. Jaken swallowed audibly.

"Do you think Kagura will be a problem?" He asked with a shaky voice.

"She never met her. She doesn't know what she looks like and even if she tells him about her I doubt he finds the information of Inuyasha spending time with a human interesting", Sesshomaru said and tapped his long nail against his chin. "While you are searching the girl needs to be kept safe and under surveillance without her knowing about it. And who would do a better job than a person who doesn't know they are working", he continued.

Realization dawned on Jaken's face. "So that is why let those fools Inuyasha and Miroku go! Oh Master Sesshomaru you are always so smart!"

"They might both be fools but Inuyasha wouldn't let anything happen to the girl. He would rather die."

Jaken thought about his words. It was true Inuyasha had been protecting the girl the entire time they had been in the room, even when his own life was at serious risk, but Jaken was sure human women should find Inuyasha as repulsive as demon women, so the way the girl had gently treated Inuyasha made no sense to Jaken. Inuyasha was an abomination that shouldn't have existed, plain and simple.

Jaken's musings were interrupted when Sesshomaru returned back to his desk, and Jaken was forced to follow him as quickly as his short legs carried him. Sesshomaru picked up a pen and wrote something down on to a piece of paper. After finishing he folded the piece neatly and offered it to Jaken with his two long fingers. Jaken took the paper gingerly and unfolded it.

"That is the place she was sighted last. Find her", Sesshomaru said simply, dismissing Jaken.

"Yes Master Sesshomaru", Jaken replied. His shoulders slumped, the weight of the task ahead of him almost pushing him through the floor. But there was nothing he could do, the command had been clear and he would rather boil himself alive than disobey Sesshomaru. With a deep bow Jaken turned away from the desk and started moving from the room, planning on getting some sleep before starting his work. However, just before he stepped out of the black double doors he remembered something.

"Master Sesshomaru, if you don't mind me asking, but now that Inuyasha is back under your control what are you going to do about the older Thunder Brother? He's been after Inuyasha's head ever since he killed Manten. Not that I care for the half-breed, but he could pose a threat to the human girl if he finds Inuyasha", Jaken said. "And besides, Inuyasha doesn't even know there is an older brother so the idiot won't even be prepared for an attack."

And just then Jaken felt like his blood had turned to ice. The smile on Sesshomaru's face was barely noticeable, but it was there, curving up his thin lips without reaching his eyes.

"Well", Sesshomaru said softly, "we can't make things too easy for him, can we?"

Jaken nodded shakily and then moved to leave the room as fast as he could.

Smiling Sesshomaru never meant anything good.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was that. Honestly I'm actually clad that I cut this chapter in half because while I usually don't do cliffhanger endings and even if this is not a proper cliffhanger it leaves you with a promise of what's to come and I think those chapter endings are always the best. Anyway like I said in my last update I was traveling for the better part of July and when I got back things got pretty insane (work, school, home life, you name it), leaving me unable to write as much as I would like to. I still wrote every day but it was usually only few lines and some editing (I did manage to re-edit the first few chapters) if I was lucky so a few days ago I made the decision of cutting this chapter (that would have ended up being almost 20,000 words long if my estimations are right) in half because I got annoyed. I don't have any intentions of being one of those writers who update once a year and then disappear because this story means too much to me. Also now I have time to work on some character stuff in the part 2. of this chapter to balance out the exposition (you guys know I'm not a fan of writing exposition...). I really feel like the story is starting properly now and I'm hyping myself up to write. Characters have been introduced, mysteries have been set out (now who on earth the woman who looks like Kagome could be?) and almost all the players are on the stage now. Comments, as usual, are greatly appreciated and I'll be seeing you soon (hopefully before Halloween but I'm not making any promises).
> 
> Lot's of love,
> 
> Green
> 
> (P.S. I think my favorite line in this story so far has been "the demon version of Marlon Brando")


	6. When in Tokyo, part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead yet but sometimes I feel like I'm close.
> 
> So hello everyone, and for starters I'm so sorry that this chapter took this long. I remember talking something about posting before Halloween and now we are living the year 2019. Life's been kicking me around lately and this particular chapter has been giving me a headache so my writing has been super slow. I'll ramble about that in the end if you are interested but for now, let's get to the story!
> 
> \- Green

"There's blood on my sleeve!"

The sound of splashing water echoed from the tiles of the empty bathroom, accompanied by few panicked whimpers as Kagome tried to scrub the red stains from the light fabric of her dress.

"So you can be perfectly calm when someone bleeds all over your hands but you lose it when your dress gets dirty?" Sango asked from where she was leaning against the row of sinks and following her friend like a hawk. In the white light of the pristine office bathroom Kagome looked remarkably pale.

" _I hope she's not going to faint on me"_ , Sango thought.

"I'm not going to, don't worry", Kagome assured, still intently scrubbing her sleeve. "But if I feel like I'm going to I'll let you know."

Sango shook her head, letting the fact that Kagome had replied to her thoughts rather than her words slide. "You're taking this too well. I have half a mind to start screaming right now."

"There's too much going on that I'm not sure what to freak out over. It all cancels itself out", Kagome replied and squeezed the water out of her sleeve. She inspected the final result and sighed. "Maybe it comes off in the laundry?"

"Are you done?" Sango asked, pushing away from the sinks. Kagome gave the wet fabric a few shakes to get the remaining water off and nodded.

"Wait outside, I need to use the toilet", Sango ordered and disappeared inside the closest stall. Kagome clicked her tongue.

"You could have gone while I was washing my hands", she pointed out.

"I had to keep an eye on you", Sango said from the stall. "Now go so I can do my business in peace."

"I don't need a babysitter", Kagome muttered.

"Yes you do."

Kagome huffed, dried her hands for one more time before exiting the bathroom and walking straight into Inuyasha who had been waiting right outside the door for her to come out.

"You okay?" He asked, his brows drawn together in worry as he watched Kagome to stumble little on her feet.

"I am, why wouldn't I be?" Kagome asked, trying to hide her hands and soaked sleeves behind her back as inconspiciously as possible.

"For multitude of reasons", Miroku supplied from behind Inuyasha where he was leaning against a wall, looking like the perfect picture of nonchalance but clearly keeping an eye on the demon sitting behind the front desk who - despite looking like he was focused on his computer solitaire - kept glancing at the direction of the women's bathroom. Inuyasha shot Miroku a dirty look before focusing on Kagome again. He searched her face for something, probably for a sign that she wasn't all right, and Kagome tried not to fidget when his eyes moved from her face to her hands she had clasped behind her back. Without a word Inuyasha reached and gently pulled Kagome's hands in front of her. She didn't resist and let Inuyasha turn her small hands around in his much larger ones, inspecting them thoroughly. They were still pink and tender from all the scrubbing she had to do to get the blood off of them.

Suddenly Inuyasha pulled Kagome closer to him, bringing the palm of her right hand to his face and sniffing it. Kagome's eyes went wide and she heard Miroku stifling a snort. Inuyasha didn't care and continued on on his sniffing, clearly searching for something.

Just then Sango decided to exit the bathroom and was stopped to her tracks by the sight of Inuyasha pressing his face into Kagome's hand.

"What are you two doing?" She simply asked. Inuyasha dropped Kagome's hand in an instant. Miroku snorted again.

"Your hands don't smell so bad anymore", Inuyasha muttered and then cleared his throat awkwardly. "The stench should go away in a couple of days."

"That's. That's good", was all Kagome could reply.  _Well, with his senses I bet the smell of blood_ _could be really distractin_ _g,_ she reasoned to herself.

"Wait, let me", Sango said and snatched Kagome's hand from Inuyasha. She brought her palm close to her nose and took in a deep breath. "I don't smell anything", she declared and let go of Kagome who let her hand fall limply against her side.

"That would be because Inuyasha's sense of smell rivals that of a trained bloodhound", Miroku informed and pushed away from the wall. "But that and other things that make Inuyasha such a special specimen are things we can discuss later in somewhere much more comfortable. Shall we go?"

Everyone nodded in agreement and they started moving towards the front door as quickly as they could without outright running. Miroku gave the doorman a small two fingered salute before pushing the door open and leading the group out. The wrinkly demon just glared at him before going back to his computer, the sound of mouse clicking filling the again emptied lobby.

The street outside Sesshomaru's office building was eerily silent, the clock nearly pointing at midnight, and Kagome was surprised that she didn't feel tired. In fact, she felt more awake than she had ever in her life.

"It's really getting late", Sango observed, stuffing her hands into her jean pockets and looking up to the starless sky. "So, what next?"

"I guess we have some talking to do", Miroku said, running his gloved hand through his messy bangs and sighing. "What a night." He then turned to Inuyasha who was picking the gauze wrapped around his neck. "Is your neck healing?"

Inuyasha stopped his picking. "Yeah, it's not bleeding anymore."

Miroku nodded. "That's good. You know, I never thought he would actually try to kill you."

"Because they are brothers?" Sango bit in. She crossed her arms across her chest and glared at both of the men standing in front of her. "You know, this whole thing makes me wonder what other possibly crucial information you deliberately chose to not tell us."

"Let's not do this here", Kagome cut in sharply when Inuyasha's eyes flashed dangerously. "We should go somewhere we can talk in private."

"Miss Higurashi is right, we should find a - " Miroku started but his sentence was interrupted by a loud rumble of his stomach. "Well this is embarrassing", Miroku said sheepishly. "Forgive me, I haven't eaten since this morning."

Kagome's smiled at that. "Maybe we should go and eat first then?"

"As it happens I know a great ramen place just around the corner where we can eat and talk!" Miroku said cheerfully. Inuyasha growled at him.

"We're not going there", he said firmly.

"Don't be like that! You love ramen! Besides", Miroku said as he started walking down the street, the rest of the group following after him in a leisurely pace, "we need a quiet place to talk and what's a better place for that than Totosai's?"

Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "Anywhere, really."

"We get discount from the ramen so I highly doubt."

"Sorry to break it to you guys but I don't have any money", Sango informed. She had stopped and was digging through her pockets before lifting her phone out, waving it around a bit. "This is the only thing I have with me and – oh, it's dead."

"I'll pay for you", Kagome said instantly.

"I'll pay for the both of you", Miroku promised. Sango's eyes narrowed.

"I'm not looking to be in debt to you Mr. Oshiro", she said coolly.

"And I wouldn't dream of indebting you, Miss Saito", Miroku replied smoothly. "Take it as a friendly gesture."

"No offence, Mr. Oshiro, but I don't want your friendly gestures", Sango replied, going from cool to downright freezing. Kagome grimaced. Sango was not great with people even during the best of situations, and the events of the night were clearly wearing whatever patience she possessed extremely thin.

Sango's coldness didn't seem to bother Miroku, however. If anything, he seemed to be fueled by it. He flashed Sango a bright smile before saying: "then I'll stop offering them. I'm sorry if I offended you!" while not sounding even remotely sorry.

Sango's eyes narrowed. "It's fine", she replied curtly.

Miroku's smile widened, and without saying anything further he started walking again, humming a small tune as he went on. Inuyasha glanced at Kagome with a questioning look but Kagome just shook her head before following after Miroku. She really didn't know if she could even explain what was happening between Sango and Miroku to Inuyasha.

 _Even I don't understand what's going on,_ she thought,  _but it sure is entertaining!_

The group walked for a few blocks, the scenery around them changing from office buildings to cheap restaurants , crowded bars and small around-the-clock stores squeezed side by side. The narrow street around them got busier the further they went on, people flowing on the streets in various states of drunkenness. Kagome must have made some noise because Inuyasha turned tolook at her with a raised brow. Instantly realizing what was wrong he moved closer to her, letting the back of his hand brush against hers in a quiet show of support, making Kagome relax in an instant. They both chose to ignore the curious looks they were drawing from passerbys.

At about a halfway point of the street Miroku turned sharply and lead the group down to a narrow side street that was lined with trash cans and was blessedly void of people. The only light source was a flickering lamp over an insignificant looking wooden door that Miroku moved to slide open.

"Good evening!" he called as he stepped in, motioning the rest of the group to follow him inside into what turned out to be a small ramen shop. The space was sparcely decorated with only three mismatched tables reserved for clients and a small front desk of some sorts near the entrance, with an open door behind it leading to what Kagome assumed was the kitchen based on the scent of cooking meat and the accompanying cooking sounds.

"Is that you Miroku, my boy?" An old, thin voice called.

"Yes, and I brought visitors", Miroku replied.

"Visitors? How rare of you."

"I know, I think it's rather strange too", Miroku said. "And I even brought someone with me who's been missing for a while, can you believe it?"

The sounds in the kitchen stopped before they were replaced by sounds of metal clanging against metal and following heavy steps. After a few heartbeats a gray, hunched over old demon came through the kitchen door. He stood behind the front desk, wearing a messy apron over a worn yukata, his great big bulging eyes traveling over the group of four in front of him before settling firmly on Inuyasha. For a few moments there was complete silence before the demon sighed and slowly limped around the counter to stand in front of Inuyasha. It was obvious that he had been tall once, since even in his current state he was able to look Inuyasha in the eyes. Inuyasha, however, was doing his best to avoid eye contact with the old demon. Kagome sensed his nervousness and an image of a child preparing for a scolding popped into her head.

 _He must be someone very old and very important if he can get this reaction out of Inuyasha,_  she thought.

And then, without any warning, the old demon pulled his bony hand back and struck Inuyasha across the face. Kagome gasped as the blow yanked Inuyasha's head to the side, his golden eyes going wide from surprise as his white fluttered around his head like falling snow.

"Why did you let him find you, you stupid boy?" The old man said, the lines around his thin-lipped mouth hard.

"What?" Inuyasha asked dumbly, still reeling from the strike.

The old demon slapped him on the other cheek.

"Hey!"

"How did he find you? I told you to go and hide and here you are, not a year later! You idiot of a child!" The old demon berated Inuyasha. "Start explaining!"

"Uhh", Inuyasha started. The old demon raised his bony hand again and Inuyasha dived behind Kagome in a desperate move to avoid the coming strike. The instant the old demon saw Kagome the old demon stopped his hand mid-air, his huge eyes blinking fast several times. His intense gaze made Kagome want to hide behind something too.

"I'm sorry", she said as politely as she could while Inuyasha was covering behind her, "can I help you?"

"Well I'll be", the old demon said, ignoring Kagome's question completely. The hand that he had raised to strike Inuyasha now moved to pull his gray beard with a charred tip, like it had been burned on an open flame. "I'll sure be."

"What?" Kagome and Inuyasha asked in unison.

"Oh nothing, nothing", the old demon said absentmindedly, his eyes flashing back and forth between Kagome and Inuyasha who was still covering behind her small frame. "Just something about apples and them not falling too far from their trees."

Kagome and Inuyasha shared a confused look.

The old demon just shook his head and sighed. His hands slid into his sleeves and with a heavy limp he started moving towards the tables. "Well, now that you're here do come on in and sit down", he said.

Since the old demon seemed to have calmed down, and sensing he wasn't going to get slapped for third time, Inuyasha moved from behind Kagome and straightened up. Miroku shot him an amused look as he trailed behind the old demon, Sango following after him with an equally amused look.

"Something funny?" Inuyasha growled at the two of them. Both of them just shrugged with feigned nonchalantly before sitting down. Kagome moved to sit down next to Sango, forcing the sulking Inuyasha to follow her lead and sit next to Miroku on the opposite side of the table. He plopped down gracelessly, crossing his arms and legs as he went down.

"So", the old demon started, standing at the end of the table, "I do believe introductions are in place."

"Yes of course", Miroku said instantly. "These lovely ladies are Miss Sango Saito and Miss Kagome Higurashi."

Sango and Kagome both nodded politely.

"And this, ah, esteemed gentleman here is Totosai."

The old demon let his wide toothless mouth hanging open and let out a coughing laugh.

"'Esteemed gentleman' that is outrageous even for you, Miroku! Totosai sure is my name but I haven't been 'esteemed' anything in several hundred years! No no, I'm just a humble ramen cook these days. And not very good at that either I'm afraid, so the prices are low."

Kagome followed as Totosai seated himself at the end of the table with creaking joints and a mysterious smile on his face. He reminded her of his grandpa and Kagome felt like he should have given the old man a hug.

She refrained herself, however. After seeing how the man had slapped Inuyasha unprompted she was more than happy to keep her distance.

"Inuyasha", Totosai started and Inuyasha shrinked away from him slightly. "You never did answer me how did he find you."

"Well, it was an unfortunate mishap - " Miroku started but was silenced by a finger Totosai lifted up.

"You act like the boy can't speak himself", the old demon said with an amused tone, "when we both know that he has a mouth too big for his own good. So I repeat: Inuyasha, how did he find you?"

Inuyasha looked very much like he would have preferred Miroku to speak for him. "I would have told you if you hadn't slapped me", Inuyasha replied sullenly.

"And I will slap you third time if you don't reply to me", Totosai replied cheerfully.

Inuyasha glared at the old man for a few more moments before replying: "I got careless."

The old demon rubbed his chin and let out a sigh. "I knew you would say that. However, you once managed to keep yourself hidden from Sesshomaru for fifty years – during, which, you got careless many times – but now he finds you after one year and drags you back by your ear like you're some misbehving brat. So I find it hard to believe this was carelessness, Inuyasha. I think you stopped caring altogether", Totosai observed, his huge eyes watching Inuyasha without blinking.

Inuyasha squirmed uncomfortably and raised his hand to scratch the back of his neck. The action brought Totosai's attention to Inuyasha's bandages.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Sesshomaru", Inuyasha muttered while rubbing the white cloth. "I think I'm about healed now", he said and without saying anything further he sliced through the gauze wrapped around his neck. The white strips fell off, revealing perfectly smooth tan skin where there had been four oozing puncture wounds just thirty minutes prior. Kagome gasped leaned over the table and ran her fingers over the spot where the wound had been. Inuyasha went completely still and Totosai's eyes seemed to bulge out even more.

"It's already healed", Kagome marveled. Inuyasha shivered from the touch, and in his attempt to hide his reaction he luckily missed the looks Totosai, Miroku and Sango shot at them. He gulped and replied as steadily as he could: "yeah, I heal fast."

"I think that's an underestimation", Kagome said, her fingers continuing their absentminded trailing on Inuyasha's skin. Inuyasha's neck started warm.

Totosai cleared his throat loudly. Kagome blinked like she had been broken from a trance and quickly stared removed her fingers and leaned back to her seat like nothing had happened. The fine sheen of pink on her cheeks betrayed her.

Totosai's lips twitched. "I assume you didn't come here just to see an old demon. I sense you youngsters have a lot to talk about so I'm going to fix you something to eat. On the house, this time", he said while he hoisted himself up and limped back to the kitchen slowly, his hands behind his back and humming as he went. The group at the table followed him up until he slammed the door to the kitchen closed behind him. After a few moments of loaded silence Inuyasha let out a groan and let his forehead fall to the table with an audible 'thump'.

"If it means anything I didn't think he would hit you", Miroku said apologetically.

"When has Totosai ever missed an opportunity to hit me?" Inuyasha's voice sounded muffled against the scratched wooden surface.

"I thought he would be happy to see you again", Miroku tried again.

Inuyasha lifted his head to look Miroku straight in the eye.

"He's happy because he gets to hit me again."

"Probably. Really, I'm sorry about that."

Inuyasha sighed and let his head fall back to the table. Miroku leaned his cheek on his gloved hand, lost deep in thought. Kagome studied her hands, tracing her finger against the lines of her palm where tiny specks of blood were still stuck. Sango had picked up a chopstick from where it had been laid in front of her and was now twirling it in her fingers. She played with it for a while, watching it spin like a pinwheel before she gently placed it down. Kagome followed her from the corner of her eye. She knew what Sango wanted to ask, and she wanted to know too.

"What happened with the kid?" Sango asked, breaking the silence. Miroku lifted his head from his hand and blinked at her. Inuyasha didn't seem to react.

"The demon child. The one you saved, Inuyasha. What happened with them?" Sango asked again, now with more demand in her voice.

Inuyasha's eyes hardened.

"His old man owed Manten money. He came to collect and apparently decided that it was more fun to kill everyone in the house and then take the money", Inuyasha answered. His voice was carefully neutral but he couldn't mask the anger behind them. "Sesshomaru sent me after Manten because he was acting without his permission. I found him just as he snapped that fox demon's neck in front of his son."

Kagome covered her mouth with her hand, suppressing a horrified gasp. Sango seemed to somehow shrink in her chair and Miroku's mouth became one thin line.

"I lost it", Inuyasha said simply. "And I killed him."

There was a pause as everyone let what Inuyasha had said sink in.  _You make it sound so… Easy,_ Kagome thought.

"It must not have been easy", she said out loud instead.

Inuyasha turned to look at Kagome in the eyes. The look in his eyes was something Kagome had never seen on a person before.

"No", he said, "it was really easy."

Kagome searched his eyes.  _It was either a man who had already killed two and was about to kill third, or_ _the life of a child_ _._ In the end she came to the same conclusion and gave Inuyasha a short nod. His eyes seemed to soften, even if just a little.

"You saved a child's life", Sango said. Her face was serious as she watched Inuyasha. "You did the right thing."

"Yes", Miroku said and nodded. "It was Manten or the child. There's no question who deserved to go."

Inuyasha looked abashed, his hand coming up to rub his neck in his nervous habit. He muttered something and Kagome could only smile at him even more.

"So, where is he now?" She asked. "The child, I mean."

"There's this woman living in the south with her daughter. I took him to her before I disappeared. He's safe there", Inuyasha said quietly. His voice was now much softer. "He can have a nice life there."

Kagome's heart made a funny jump and she unconsciously lifted her hand to rub her chest. Something in her shifted then, something in the way she looked at Inuyasha. She felt her heart beating faster and she felt her ears started to burn as the realization dawned on her.

_Oh no._

And just then the kitchen door was kicked open and Totosai appeared, balancing four large bowls of ramen. Kagome stood up like she had been sitting on a spring and rushed over to Totosai.

"Here, let me help", she said as she gently took two bowls from Totosai and carried them to the table, her face still flushed. Totosai limped after her and put the rest of the bowls down before offering Kagome a wide, toothless smile.

"Thank you, kind girl", the old demon said.

"It's nothing", Kagome replied and sat down again, carefully avoiding looking at Inuyasha who was watching her with a questioning look. Totosai again took his seat at the end of the table. His large eyes glided over the group before he slided his hands into his sleeves and said "well, dig in!"

They thanked for the food in chorus, silence falling over the table as everyone focused on their food. Kagome had to agree with Totosai: his ramen wasn't good. The noodles were undercooked, the meat was chewy and the broth was tasteless. She ate half of her portion before giving up and putting down her chopsticks. Without a word Inuyasha, who had finished his bowl a good while before, claimed her bowl to himself and continued eating. Kagome only shook her head before turning to Totosai and thanking him with a bright smile.

"It was delicious!" She said.

Totosai laughed heartly.

"You really are too kind. I know my cooking abilities so you don't have to protect my feelings."

"If you think it's shit then why are you feeding it to us?" Inuyasha managed to say, his mouth stuffed full and broth dripping to his chin. He made an extremely unattractive picture but the weird jumping of Kagome's heart didn't go anywhere. She felt her ears turning red all over again.

"And you still haven't learned any table manners", Totosai said calmly. Inuyasha only slurped louder and wiped his chin with the back of his hand.

Sango looked at Inuyasha for a while with distaste and turned then to Totosai. "So", she started conversationally, "how long have you known Inuyasha and Mr. Oshiro? I feel like there's a lot of history here."

Totosai raised a brow at the formal way Sango addressed Miroku but didn't comment. "There sure is", he said instead, casually digging his ear with his pinky finger. "I've only known Miroku for a few years now but Inuyasha I've known almost all of his life. I was very close with his father, you see."

And with that seemingly innocent statement Totosai had let the elephant enter the room. Inuyasha's whole body froze, the fresh heaping of noodles heading for his mouth stopping midair. Slowly he dropped the food back to the bowl, put down the chopsticks and let his hands rest on the table. His fingers curled towards his palm, his nails digging into his skin but he didn't seem to notice. Sango followed his movements and instinctively she sat up straighter. She then made eye contact with Kagome's, and without even listening in Kagome knew that Sango was thinking. Sesshomaru's even yet deadly voice sounded us as clear in her head as it had been when she had been in the same room with him.

" _I made a promise to our father."_

And then, even deadlier.

" _I am the only reason you have been allowed to live this long, little brother."_

Inuyasha's ears flicked, his eyes shifting around the table like an animal who was looking for a way out before landing Kagome. Her brows drew into involuntary frown and Inuyasha seemed to flinch away from her.

 _It's now or never I guess,_ Kagome thought _._

"Why didn't you tell?" She asked, keeping her voice soft and carefully avoiding sounding accusing. Still Inuyasha looked like he had swallowed something bitter, making Kagome feel instantly guilty.

"Tell you what?" Inuyasha said dismissively.

"That Sesshomaru's father is also your father", Kagome pushed on.

Inuyasha's hand squeezed into a tight fist.

"It doesn't matter", he muttered through his teeth.

"It does matter", Kagome argued, leaning almost desperately towards Inuyasha again.

"It doesn't matter to me", Inuyasha said stubbornly. His nails broke through the skin of his palm.

Totosai followed Inuyasha, his brows drawing into an ever deepening frown.

"You didn't tell her?" He asked, deep disappointment in his voice.

"No", Inuyasha replied, the grinding of his teeth audible.

"Still insisting on being childish I see."

"Why is it anyone's fucking business who my father is?" Inuyasha snapped. "It doesn't matter who the fuck he was! He never did anything for me except left me and my mom in that fucking forest alone!"

Totosai's mouth tightened. "You know very well what your father did for you and your mother. You know this all is for you and her."

Inuyasha looked like he was going to physically attack Totosai.

"And now they both are dead and everyone wants me dead too!"

And with that he turned and stomped out of the small ramen shop, slamming the door closed behind him so hard it nearly came off of its hinges.

Kagome watched the closed door with wide eyes. She had seen Inuyasha angry before but this. This wasn't anger.

 _He's hurt_ , she thought. And suddenly there was a bitter taste in her own mouth.

Totosai sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"This boy will surely kill me one day", he muttered.

"I assume his family is not his favorite topic?" Sango asked, eyes still on the door like Inuyasha would kick it in any moment and come back to yell some more.

"That is an understatement", Miroku said matter-of-factly. It was the first time he had spoken since they had started eating, and Inuyasha's outburst seemed to do little to nothing to rattle him.

"So, have you two practiced telling the story of the great demon who brought all the demons together in a way that erases Inuyasha out of it completely?" Sango asked bitingly. "Or are you two just that good at improvisation?"

"Neither, actually, but I am a good friend", Miroku replied and took a sip of his water. "I know he doesn't want to be associated with his father – or should I say, he doesn't want to be associated with Sesshomaru, who is associated with his father."

"But why", Sango asked, "why does Sesshomaru – and every other demon in fact – hate Inuyasha so much? I mean, thinking about who his father was and brother is you'd think that would gain him at least some respect."

"Half-brother", Miroku corrected.

"What?" Sango asked dumbly.

"Sesshomaru is Inuyasha's half-brother. And that's where the problem lies", Miroku said. His face was now very serious, the joviality usually present completely vanished, making his handsome face harder and somehow sharper.

Sango blinked. "So Sesshomaru hates Inuyasha because of… Family drama?"

Miroku snorted without any true amusement in his voice. "If you want to put it like that. You see-"'

"Inuyasha's mother was a human", Kagome finished his sentence. Both Miroku and Sango turned to look at her with wide eyes and after realizing what she had accidentally done Kagome gasped and covered her mouth. Totosai raised his brow but didn't say anything.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to listen in!" She hurried to apologize. "I just - "

Miroku shook his head. "It's fine, you don't need to apologize. You can't always control it."

"Wait, Inuyasha's mother is a  _human_?" Sango asked with disbelief. She turned to look at Kagome. "And he didn't tell even  _you_?"

Kagome didn't really know how to respond to Sango's accusing tone. "He did mention his mother once in passing and that's it. He never mentioned she was a human."  _How_ _was_ _I supposed to know?_ _I can't read his mind!_

"They can, but it is very rare", Miroku explained, and added: "although I suspect the amount of half-demons will grow in the coming years when everyone finally accepts the idea of a peaceful coexistence."

"After you told us that humans are nothing but cockroaches to demons it's really hard to imagine them making babies together", Sango pointed out. Miroku offered her a small smile.

"I was being maybe a bit dramatic. Most demons really do think like that, true, but there are exceptions to every rule. A major one being Inuyasha's father."

"Demons like that must be very unpopular", Sango noted.

Miroku nodded. "They are, but it's nothing compared to what the children go through. Half-demons are even below humans for most demons. Some sort of an insult towards their high and mighty selves." A wave of sadness came from Miroku. "I can't even imagine what it all has been like for Inuyasha. He hides behind that tough guy act of his but I know that he's always been lonely. I mean, anyone in his situation would be."

Both Miroku and Sango jumped when Kagome suddenly stood loudly, her face twisted into a pained look.

There was a shrill voice in the back of Kagome's head, screaming words at her she didn't hear but she could feel _._  The voice then became a multitude of voices, all screaming different things at her, the words twisting and twining into each other but their messages were clear, and all of them like hundred needles against her skin.

She felt physically ill.

"I need to talk to him", she said quetly. She was trying to control the fine shaking of her hands as she walked quickly to the door. Miroku and Sango were following her with wide eyes but Totosai, who had remained quiet, watched her like a hawk watches a mouse, his huge eyes sharp as Kagome moved past him.

With her own eyes casted down Kagome pushed the door open, stepped out and pushed the door back again. Without even looking up she knew Inuyasha was there. Her skin was prickling again with the familiar sensation.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked as she leaned against the wall next to the door. She hadn't looked up yet.

"Miroku just can't keep his big mouth shut, huh?" Inuyasha's voice was rough, like he had been yelling himself hoarse, or maybe like he hadn't used his voice at all.

"I accidentally heard him so don't be mad at him", Kagome reassured him. Inuyasha scoffed but didn't reply. Kagome looked up gingerly, peaking through her bangs. Inuyasha had his arms crossed and his shoulders squared as he followed Kagome from where he was leaning against the wall across from her.

"I feel silly you know", Kagome started, trying to keep her voice cheerful. "I should have known. You feel different than the demons we met today do. Mostly because I can't feel them all", she said and made a strangled sound that should have been a laugh.

Inuyasha stayed quiet and Kagome took in a deep breath.

"I know you don't owe me anything", she started again, this time more serious, the phrase she had been repeating over and over to herself still feeling like she was drinking bleach. "But don't you think that maybe I would have understood if you had told me?"

"Oh really?" Inuyasha asked dismissively.

"Yes", Kagome replied.

Something flashed in Inuyasha's eyes. He uncrossed his arms and pushed away from the wall, slowly moving to stand right in front of Kagome. She was forced to crain her neck to properly look at his face.

"Do you really think that you know what I've been through?" He asked, his voice shaking. "Do you really think you know what it feels like when every fucking person you have met thinks you shouldn't exist? How it feels like when you're hunted for sport?" Kagome felt like he had just physically struck her, but she swallowed her hurt and stood her ground.

"No, I don't", she replied and took one wavering breath. "But I do know what it feels like to live your whole life thinking that you are some sort of freak of nature because of something you can't change. It makes you bitter. It makes you angry. And it makes you sad", Kagome said, her eyes going damp as the memories came to her. "It's lonely."

Inuyasha's shoulders fell and he took a step back. He always felt so useless when the tears came.

"I'm not about to cry if that's what you're afraid of", Kagome said and quickly rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Inuyasha's ears drooped.

There was a moment where the two were lost in thought, the humming of the city surrounding them but never quite reaching them.

"Why do you even care?" Inuyasha muttered quietly. Kagome jumped a bit but Inuyasha didn't seem to see her at the moment.

"I..." Kagome started and then bit her lip. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say.

_I care because I'm curious. I care because I want to get to know you._

_I care because I care about you._

"I care because that's what I do", Kagome settled on. Inuyasha's brow rose.

"I care about people", Kagome shrugged. "And I feel like this is something that is important to you."

"It's not", Inuyasha dismissed way too quickly. Kagome smiled even if she felt like she was still on the verge of crying.

"Liar", she said softly.

Inuyasha blinked at her.

"You can say you don't care all you want but the fact that even mentioning your mother upsets you tells pretty plainly it matters to you."

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably, his eyes moving away from Kagome and to the brick wall behind her. She sighed and moved so she was again in his line of sight. She put on her bravest smile and hoped her lip didn't waver too much.

"I just want to understand, that's all", she said with a soft voice.

Inuyasha was completely still a few moments before looking up to the sky. Kagome looked up too only to see that she couldn't see the stars like she could back home, only the mechanical light of the .

"I wanted to tell you", Inuyasha said, his voice almost a whisper. "I wanted to tell you from the start but I was…" It was like the last word had stuck into his throat.

"You were what?" Kagome asked, her breath hitching in her own throat as she lowered her eyes back to Inuyasha.

"I thought you would hate me", Inuyasha spat out. His shoulders squared inward again as he continued looking up instead of Kagome.

Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. "Why would I ever hate you?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "You thought I was a demon. I'm not. I thought you would hate me for that."

"It's not your fault, it was me who assumed things, that's all on me", Kagome shook her head like the whole idea was ridiculous.

"I thought you would hate me because I was not a full demon", Inuyasha tried again.

"That is not a reason to hate anyone."

"Well plenty of fucking people still do", Inuyasha grunted, finally turning to look at Kagome again with annoyance in his eyes.

"Then they are all idiots", Kagome snapped. It was Inuyasha's turn to look surprised.

"Maybe you're not a demon", Kagome continued, "and maybe you're not a human either. Who cares! You're you, and I like you just the way you are!"

"Just the way I am?" Inuyasha's brow rose and Kagome nearly bit her tongue.

"Well..." She stammered, "you really could be a lot more polite and you should learn some table manners and and - "

With one fluid movement Inuyasha pressed his large hand gently onto Kagome's mouth, shutting her up instantly.

"You keep saying I don't owe you anything", he said with a low voice, "and maybe you're right, maybe I really don't. But the thing is that for the first time in my life I can do things just because I want to." He took in a breath. "And that's just what I'm going to do."

Kagome had no idea what Inuyasha meant. She was too focused on thinking her heart would burst because of the way it was beating.

Inuyasha's ear twiched and he lifted his head. "Do they know that we know that they are there?" Inuyasha whispered and it took a Kagome a few seconds to caught up with him. She smiled behind his hand and gently removed it from her lips so she could reply.

"They know, they just don't care", she said with a smile.

Inuyasha made a displeased "tsk" sound. "You try to fucking do anything without Miroku and he still has to stick his damn nose to it."

Kagome laughed. "Isn't that what friends are like?"

Inuyasha made a strange throat sound and moved back to the door of the ramen shop, yanking it open and revealing the completely unashamed looking Miroku and Sango squatting in the doorway.

"Having fun?" Inuyasha growled.

"Very", Miroku replied casually and eyed the man in front of him. "Talked things through?"

"Nothing to talk about", Inuyasha grunted and pushed past Miroku, stomping back into the restaurant. Kagome followed him with a lighter step and while walking past her she pinched Sango hard on her side. Sango yelped and shot a dirty look at Kagome who took her seat at the table, acting like nothing had happened.

"So did you calm down from your little tantrum?" Totosai asked, pouring himself a steaming cup of tea from a pot on the table in front of him that he had apparently prepared while Kagome and Inuyasha were outside. Inuyasha glared at the old demon while Miroku and Sango took their seats.

Kagome scowled.

"Inuyasha had a perfectly fine reason to be upset", she said sternly, " So please don't make fun of him for that."

Totosai raised a brow.

"Duly noted", he replied, his bulging eyes swifting from serious looking Kagome to scowling Inuyasha. He then took a long sip from his tea before he started talking again.

"So now that you're back with us again what are you planning on doing next?" He asked. Inuyasha shrugged.

"I'm going back with Kagome", he said. "And Miroku's coming with me."

Totosai looked surprised. "Sesshomaru's letting you go? Just like that? And he's letting Miroku go too?"

"Sesshomaru actually was the one who ordered me to go with Inuyasha", Miroku said and poured a cup of tea for himself. "I'm not surprised he thinks Inuyasha needs to be looked after but I am surprised of how easily he agreed to all of this. Especially when he had just, you know, tried to kill Inuyasha."

Totosai pulled his beard thoughtfully. "Sesshomaru has kept the promise he made to your father for all these years, has he not?"

Inuyasha scoffed. "Only because he can't look like he's going back on his word." He then lifted his hand to his neck, to where the marks from Sesshomaru's claws had been less than an hour ago. "He's just waiting for me to do something that finally gives him the reason to kill me."

"And you finally gave him that by disobeying him, killing a demon and then running away, making him look like a fool in progress", Miroku listed.

"Shut up."

"I'm just saying, not being able to keep you in line makes him look bad."

"But what really bothers me is why he didn't go through with killing Inuyasha", Sango cut in before Inuyasha could snap something back at Miroku, running her fingers through her ponytail absentmindedly. "I got the impression that he's not a person who does anything without a good reason."

"He just can't be fucking bothered", Inuyasha muttered.

"I think he's plenty bothered by you", Miroku said while pouring tea into two cups and handing them to Kagome and Sango. "Ladies."

Kagome thanked and took the offered cup while Sango just gave Miroku her most unimpressed look. Miroku flashed her a smile.

Totosai pulled his beard a few times before asking: "what actually happened? Give me something to work with."

Miroku took a sip of his tea before starting. "Well, it was mostly civil – or at least as civil it can be with Inuyasha and Sesshomaru in the same room together – before Inuyasha explicitly told Sesshomaru he was done with him. Word 'fuck' was excessively used. And then Sesshomaru attacked."

Totosai nodded. "And what happened then?"

"Sesshomaru was about to kill Inuyasha but then Miss Higurashi jumped in."

Totosai's huge eyes snapped to where Kagome was sitting and she wanted to cower.

"I was sure Sesshomaru was going to kill them both", Miroku said very matter-of-factly while cold shivers ran down Kagome's back. "But he didn't. He ordered Jaken to fetch something to patch up Inuyasha, Miss Higurashi bandaged him and we were out as soon as soon as he gave us his orders."

Totosai continued his unwavering staring. "That was both very stupid and very brave of you."

"I know", Kagome muttered.  _Please stop staring at me._

"You could have died", the old demon continued.

"I know", Kagome replied again.

"Why did you do it then?"

Kagome shrugged. "He was hurting Inuyasha. I had to do something", she said like it was the most simple thing in the world.

Totosai hummed.

"Very interesting..." He was about to say something else but just then Inuyasha let out a loud huff, turning everyone's attention back to himself.

"Are you people really going to spend the whole night going on and on about why that bastard didn't kill me? Because I really don't fucking care."

Miroku blinked at him. "Inuyasha, he tried to kill you", he said slowly, like he was talking to a child.

"I know", Inuyasha said dryly. "Not the first time in my life when someone's tried that. Sesshomaru's always wanted to kill me, that's not anything new, and I don't care why he didn't go through with it. His mistake."

"What?" Miroku asked.

"Because the next time the bastard tries to pull shit like that I will kill him myself."

Without a warning a fist landed squarely on top of Inuyasha's head, making a hollow "thump" sound as it connected with his skull.

"Ow!" Inuyasha cried out and ducked away from Totosai while holding his head. "What was that for?"

"Do you really think you could take Sesshomaru on?" Totosai huffed. "Stupid boy. Are you so desperate to get yourself killed?"

Inuyasha rubbed the space between his ears with a sullen look on his face, refusing to answer. Totosai stuffed his hands back to his sleeves, turned to Kagome and winked.

"More heart than brains", he stage-whispered, "that is always the problem."

Kagome couldn't do anything but smile. She really couldn't deny that.

"Okay, I'm done. We are done here", Inuyasha declared loudly and stood up in one fluid move, his eyes switching back and forth between Totosai and Kagome with an annoyed look on his face. "Thanks for the food or whatever."

There was a few heartbeats of confused silence Kagome sighed and also stood up. "I think it's time to go too. It's really late and we still need to drive back."

"We could stay the night at my place", Miroku suggested. "Like you said it's late. We should get some sleep and then start driving back early. We'd be there by lunchtime."

Kagome shook her head.

"I promised Mama that we would be home by morning", she said, "and I have to go to work in the morning and there is no way I'm taking the day off."

"I admire your work ethic Miss Higurashi", Miroku said and released a jaw-splitting yawn. "Excuse me."

Sango couldn't hold back her own yawn either.

"We really should get going then", she said and rubbed her face.

Totosai nodded and slowly got up to his creaky legs.

"It is very late indeed and you have entertained this old fool for far longer than any young person should", Totosai said and gave them his wide toothless smile. "I'm sure we will meet again."

Kagome bowed at the old demon and then gave him her warmest smile. "It was an honor to meet you."

If possible Totosai's smile widened even more. "The honor is all mine. It's not every day that I am blessed with such kind and beautiful company."

Kagome smiled but Inuyasha scoffed. "Wonder why", he said loudly.

"Don't forget Inuyasha, I'm still perfectly capable of giving you a slap on the fingers if needed be", Totosai said calmly and without even his eyes from Kagome.

Inuyasha huffed. "I'm waiting outside", he declared, turned around and marched out of the door, slamming the door behind him loudly as he went.

Miroku clicked his tongue. "I do wish you would stop antagonizing him", he said to Totosai. "You are among the very few people who have ever treated him with something even close to kindness and you know what it means to him."

Totosai stayed silent, and with an annoyed huff Miroku exited the ramen shop, Sango following him after thanking Totosai for his hospitality. Kagome moved to leave too but the old demon stopped her with a hand on her arm. His frail-looking fingers held a firm grip.

"I need to talk with you", he said to her with a low voice. Kagome could only blink at him.

"Are you coming Kagome?" Sangoa asked from the door.

Kagome quickly glanced between her and Totosai. "I'll be right there", she said and Sango nodded, closing the door behind her.

Totosai was back to pulling his beard, watching Kagome with a far-off look in his eyes. Kagome waited for the old demon to speak, but he stayed quiet. Kagome squirmed uncomfortably.

"I really should be going", she started, nudging her way towards the door.

"I know I should be kinder to the boy", Totosai said with a low voice, ignoring Kagome. "But he's too stubborn to accept kindness, and I am too old to fight him for it."

Kagome's brows drew together and she nodded slowly. "I think I understand what you mean."

"Good", Totosai said, "because I want to ask you to do something."

"What?" Kagome asked suspiciously, crossing her hands across her chest in very Inuyasha-like manner that made Totosai's lip twitch.

"Be kind to him", Totosai said. "Be kind to him and make him accept it, even if it's by force. You're younger than me and I believe you have what it takes to get it to his stubborn head that he deserves that kindness."

Kagome let out a small laugh and gently took the old demon's hand into her own, giving it a firm squeeze.

"Don't worry", Kagome said with a mischievous smile. "I'm more stubborn than he can ever dream of being."

Totosai let out a raspy laugh.

"That is good to hear", he said and then turned serious, his huge eyes meeting Kagome's and begging her to listen. "Take care of him", he said so quietly Kagome barely heard him. A desperate plea born form genuine caring.

"I will do my best", Kagome whispered back. Totosai let go of her hands and sighed.

"I guess that is all anyone can ever do", he said with a normal voice. Kagome nodded.

The door rolled open with a force. "Kagome! Are you coming or not!" Inuyasha practically howled.

"Coming!" Kagome said to him before turning back to Totosai and bowing deeply.

"I really hope we will meet again", she said earnestly.

"I believe we do, my girl", Totosai said and then pushed her towards the annoyed looking Inuyasha standing in the doorframe. "Now I insist you must go or else I will be blamed."

Kagome giggled and turned to Inuyasha who was glaring daggers at the old demon who was now smiling sereninely at the couple. When Kagome was out of the door he shot one last sharp look at Totosai before closing the door again, leaving the old demon alone in his ramen shop. Totosai sighed.

"What a sweet girl, that Kagome", he said to himself and slowly moved to clean the mess the group had made. He then chuckled to himself. "That old flea will be furious that he missed out on this."

-

The walk back to Miroku's car was done in tired silence. Kagome felt the exhaustion that came from both Miroku and Sango in strong waves, both fighting hard to suppress their yawning. Inuyasha however was in full alert. The street they were walking was emptier now than it had been when they had walked to Totosai, but the people they saw were much more drunker now, many of them barely on their feet. As Inuyasha walked past them many of them turned to openly stare or even point at him. He bared his teeth and let out a low, rumbling chest sound. A very drunk man walking past them jumped so violently he tripped on his feet and fell down. Inuyasha's lips twisted upward.

When the group attived to where Miroku had parked his car Sango, without a single word, slipped to the backseat, tucked herself in comfortably and declared: "wake me up when we're back home" before closing her eyes. Her breathing deepened and evened out almost in an instant. Kagome fiddled with her seatbelt as both Miroku and Inuyasha stared at Sango from the front seat.

"Did she actually fall asleep?" Inuyasha asked with raised brows.

"It's really freaky, I know. She can fall asleep anywhere just like that", Kagome explained and snapped her fingers for emphasis.

"I wish I could do that", Miroku said, turning and starting the car, "it would be useful when driving around like this." He supressed yet another yawn. "Before we go I need to drop by my place first. I need to pack."

They quietly drove past the busy commercial areas to more quiet and well kept area that was composed of tall, highly priced apartment buildings that to Kagome looked exactly identical to the office buildings they had left behind. She watched the expanses of glass and steel with wide eyes. _I could never live here_ , she thought.  _Too many people too close to each other._

"What are you thinking?" Inuyasha asked quietly from the backseat. His eyes had the same look that Kagome's had.

"There are just so many people in this city", Kagome replied, her voice distant and deep in thought. Inuyasha nodded.

"Is that a bad thing?" Miroku asked, glancing at Kagome from his review mirror.

Kagome shrugged. "It's not a good or a bad thing. It's just a fact."

"An unpleasant fact?" Miroku pushed. Kagome sighed.

"A tiring fact. Nighttime is always easiest for me wherever I am because most people are sleeping, but I think my worst nightmare is being stuck in Tokyo during daytime", Kagome said. Miroku chuckled.

"I think that's a nightmare for many", he agreed and turned the steering wheel. "For me living in a big city is a blessing. The anonymity it brings is all I'm asking for."

Kagome smiled. "Yes, that would be nice. Wouldn't it, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha grunted.

"And I think Sango agrees with you too", Kagome said and glanced to where Sango was sleeping soundily.

"I don't think Miss Saito voluntarily would agree with me on anything", Miroku said.

"You've known what? For a day? She needs some time getting to know you."

"Hmm", was all that Miroku said before pulling up to a curb next to yet another steel and glass monstrocity. "You can wait in the car with Miss Saito if you want, Miss Higurashi, this will only take a few moments."

"Sure", Kagome said as Miroku and Inuyasha stepped out of the car. Before closing the door Inuyasha leaned in and said firmly: "don't go wandering around." Kagome blinked at him and then frowned.

"I wasn't planning on", she huffed.

"Good." And with that Inuyasha slammed the door closed and marched to where Miroku was waiting by the entrance and together they disappeared inside. Kagome pursed her lips and crossed her arms, staring intently out of the window.

For good thirty minutes the only movement Kagome saw was Sango sifting slightly in her sleep. Kagome sighed and pressed her cheek back against the window. She had gotten tired of waiting for Inuyasha and Miroku to come back the instant they had left, and when she finally saw the front door open again she jumped out of the car and rushed over to where Inuyasha was balancing with three large bags, all while complaining loudly.

"Why the fuck do you need this much stuff?" He whined at Miroku who walked behind him carrying a gym bag and a laptop case.

"This may come as a surprise to you but some people actually change clothes", Miroku said. "And I don't know how long I'll have to stay as your babysitter so I might as well take as many things with me as I can."

"Who says you're going to stay with me?" Inuyasha said and accidentally dropped one of the bags on his foot. "Fuck!"

"Let me take that", Kagome said quickly and crabbed the bag from the ground. Inuyasha barely acknowledged her.

"I'm supposed to keep an eye on you. Where am I supposed to stay if not with you then?" Miroku asked impatiently. Kagome knew he was even more tired than he let on, having been up for a full 24 hours now, and his polite and jovial mask had started to crack.

Miroku popped open the trunk and Inuyasha pushed past him to slam in the bags without too much consideration.

"Why the fuck should I care where you stay?"

It was plain and clear that Inuyasha was angry, and Kagome couldn't blame him. If the day had been tiring for her it must have been exhausting to him.

"You can come and stay with my family", Kagome said before Miroku could snap anything back. Having two grown men fighting like cranky children was not something she wanted to deal with. Miroku measured her for a moment. "Would that be fine?"

"Absolutely!" Kagome assured just a tad bit too enthusiastically. "Inuyasha spends a lot of time with us anyway, and the more people in the house the happier my Mama is! She loves fussing over people!"

"Getting fussed over does sound really nice", Miroku said, the corner of his lip curving up. "I think I'll take the offer, since it's the best and the only one I've had all night. Thank you, Miss Higurashi."

"Please, just call me Kagome."

Miroku's mouth stretched into a full, genuine smile. "Then I must insist you call me Miroku."

"Done."

"Can we fucking go?" Inuyasha all but moaned. Miroku raised his brow.

"Where are you hurrying to? Aren't you always bragging about how you don't need as much sleep as us pathetic humans do?"

"I just wanna get the fuck away from here, that's all", Inuyasha said and slammed the trunk close. Miroku sighed and started digging the car keys from his pocket. "I guess we really should get going."

"I'll drive", Kagome said, holding her hand out to take the keys from Miroku. "You are tired and you shouldn't be driving anymore."

Miroku smiled. "It's very considerate of you but I must-"

"Shut up and give her the key", Inuyasha interrupted. "You can't even walk straight."

"You make it sound like I'm drunk instead of tired."

"Being tired and driving and being drunk and driving are almost the same thing", Kagome reminded. "Just let me drive, please. You need to get some rest."

Miroku fiddled with the key's in his hand. "What about you, Kagome? Weren't you saying you have work tomorrow?"

"I can't fall asleep if there are people awake near me", Kagome said simply, "I can't relax enough. It's just better if I drive."

"Must have been inconvenient at slumber parties", Miroku said, still stubbornly holding onto his keys.

"It's nice that you assume I was ever invited to those. Now give me the keys and get into the car."

Miroku just sighed and glanced at Inuyasha. "She's really is a spitfire."

"Shut it and get in", Inuyasha growled. Miroku sighed louder and accepted his fate, handing over the car keys to Kagome before sliding into the backseat and buckling himself next to Sango who was still sleeping, completely undisturbed. Kagome climbed to the front seat, adjusting the seat and the mirrors for a while before turning the key.

"What is Inuyasha doing?" Miroku asked and Kagome turned to look out of the car where Inuyasha was still standing his hands stuffed deep into his pockets. Kagome rolled down a window. "Inuyasha! Are you coming?" She called him. Inuyasha shook his head.

"I'm gonna run back", he said and suffled his feet on the pavement. "I don't feel like sitting in a car right now."

"It's a long run", Miroku reminded through his own window.

Inuyasha huffed. "Ran longer", he said haughtily. "Besides, I have some things to think about."

"Like what?" Miroku asked.

"Like how to get you to mind your own business."

"I understand", Kagome said more loudly than she had intended to cut Miroku off. "We'll see you back home then?"

"In the morning", Inuyasha clarified and Kagome nodded.

"In the morning."

Inuyasha came closer to the driver's window and leaned over so he could look at Kagome properly. His golden eyes danced on her face for a moment before coming back to her eyes again. Kagome felt her heart beat picking up pace.

"Drive safe", he said with a low voice.

"Y-you too", Kagome managed to stammer. Inuyasha snorted before he straightened up and stretched. He had already halfway turned away before he seemed to remember something. Quickly he kicked of his sneakers, bended over to pick them up and handed them to the confused Kagome who could do nothing but take the offered shoes.

"Here", Inuyasha said, "I hate running with shoes on."

"Okay", was all Kagome could say before Inuyasha was gone in a flurry of white.

Miroku tried to desperately hide his laugh and failed miserably. "Well", he said, all but giggling, "I never thought giving your shoes to a girl was a grand romantic gesture but maybe Inuyasha is up to the task of rewriting the rules."

"Weren't you going to sleep?" Kagome grunted in a very Inuyasha-like manner and pushed the gear shift, the sound of the car engine covering up Miroku's chuckling. As they pulled away from the sidewalk and started to make their way out of the city Miroku made himself comfortable, and by the time they crossed the city limit he was soundly asleep. Kagome had turned on the radio that was now quietly playing soft jazz tunes.

Everything that had happened during the night was reeling through her head like a speeded up movie. She had so many questions that she still wanted to ask, her natural curiosity gnawing at her. Kagome tapped the steering wheel and chewed her lip thoughtfully and glanced to where Sango and Miroku were quietly huffing in the backseat _._. She understood Inuyasha's desire to be alone and think but Kagome, unlike Inuyasha, really did not want to be alone with her thoughts right now.

Kagome pushed down on the gas pedal like she could outrun her own brain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I think I've said a few times that I hate writing exposition. This chapter right here nearly made me want to abandon this whole project. The fact that it's purely an exposition piece where characters just talk and then have to move from place A to place B and then to place C made this chapter so goddamn hard to write and editing was a nightmare too because I had to cut off several thousand words worth of text so I could upkeep some sort of illusion of pacing. I am not happy with this chapter but I felt like I had to push it out now or else I never will. I'm not happy with it but I'm happy that now I'm free to start working on the next chapter which will be far more enjoyable for me to write and I bet far more enjoyable for you to read. Some exciting things are up ahead...
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> Green

**Author's Note:**

> There was that! The first chapter! Not gonna lie it's nerve wrecking for me to even think about publishing things so this is a huge step for me and I hope you enjoyed it. I have the second chapter done already and I'm going to post it soon. This was more or less an introductory chapter and I am itching to get to the good stuff. 
> 
> See you!
> 
> \- Green


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